News on the Mirko Front

What I’ve learned from my friendship with Mirko Cro Cop is that you can never be sure what is he up to. He prefers to keep his thoughts for himself; he’s always been a man of a few words. His absence in the media often results in completely misleading stories, coming from people who are giving their best shot in evaluating Mirko’s position and the nature of his future plans.

When I arrived to the caffe-bar “Virage” last Wednesday and shook his hand, I immediately noticed an abundance of pure energy coming from him. I don’t posses a Hannibal Lecter type of human scanner, but when I looked in his eyes, it was obvious that Mirko has refueled his “motivational tank” and that his fighting spirit has been reborn. This time he wasn’t there to talk about his retirement, which is what he used to do before and after his fight against Cheick Kongo.

We were talking about the change and Mirko confirmed everything that I saw on his face from that first sight. He said that he’s completely in the game again, focused only on how to get back on track. He doesn’t think about contract obligations, retirement, injuries and a few other things, which one shouldn’t think about if you are determined to give everything you’ve got in the cage or the ring. His day starts with a goal to be the best in MMA, and it ends the same way. Mirko Cro Cop is back to his Spartan-style training routine and motivation, I can tell you for sure.

So what was the problem, actually? Mirko said that he had been completely empty inside and that he had ran our of his motivation and his fighting spirit. Although he really wanted to get back on track after the fight against Gonzaga, he wasn’t mentally and psyhically ready to make it happen. He encountered more than a few obstacles that prevented him to provide a better performance against Kongo, and the majority of those obstacles were not related to the opponent directly, they appeared as a result of Mirko’s overall mental and physical condition.

What else is new? Mirko has a completely new training routine. He needed something new, a training routine that could wake up a sleeping power inside him. His training schedule now contains more sparring sessions, better cardio program and a whole different approach to an intensity level of his trainings and rest between the sessions. He’s continuing his cooperation with Vos gym’s head coach Ivan Hyppolite, who will assist him in the final preparations for the fight. Cro Cop Team now includes sparring partners Igor Pokrajac, Hrvoje Kisicek and Sasa Mucnjak, boxing coach Branimir Levak and Prof. Igor Jukic who’s in charge of conditioning.

So why did Cro Cop decide to give it another shot? It’s about pride and self respect, I’d say. After 11 years of a professional career, you just can’t get out of the game like this. Maybe Mirko can’t win the UFC belt and maybe he’ll never get his chance to fight for a title, but the most important thing is that he steps in the cage to fight and to give his best. That’s something that everyone should do, and if you do it, you are already a winner. The famous Croatian cop will make his comeback and what’s left is to see if others will only have the right to remain silent.

Full article is available from Nokaut.com.

I hope Cro Cop turns it around; he is one of my favorites however lately I am embarrassed to say so. I have said it before and once again: Mirko needs to adapt to the UFC, train in the cage, and train with a good camp. I am sure the Can and his camp would take him in.