Mirko Filipovic
Encyclopedia
Mirko Filipović is a former Croatia
n heavyweight
kickboxer
, mixed martial artist
, politician, and law enforcement officer
. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007. His nickname, Cro Cop, short for "Croatian Cop", comes from his membership in the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, Croatia's elite Police Special Forces
tactical unit.
Filipović has been successful in both K-1
and Pride Fighting Championships. On September 10, 2006, he won the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix, and in 2007 began fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC). Filipović is famous for his left head kicks. He has been famously quoted as describing his kicks as, "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery."
. Before turning pro Filipović was said to have accumulated an amateur boxing record of 40–5 (31 KO's). At the time, Filipović was working as a commando in the Croatian police
anti-terrorist unit Alpha (stationed in Lučko near Zagreb
), which earned him his nickname "Cro Cop". He also fought several times early in his career under the nickname "Tigar" (Croatian for "tiger
"). His entrance theme song is The Wild Boys
by Duran Duran
.
elimination tournament. After defeating the previous year's finalist, Jérôme Le Banner
, Filipović was stopped in the next round by Ernesto Hoost
. He returned to K-1 three years later in 1999, knocking out British fighter Ricky "Tank" Nicholson, but subsequently dropped a decision against Swiss fighter, Xhavit Bajrami
. Despite this, Filipović was given a wildcard into the world tournament where he shocked the kickboxing world by defeating highly regarded K-1 fighter Mike Bernardo
. Filipović went on to knock out Japanese
star Musashi
and Australian karate
fighter Sam Greco
on the same night before being stopped again by Hoost. It was later revealed that Filipović actually entered the ring with a broken rib, a result of his previous fights.
Filipović continued to have successes in K-1, winning a number of matches against such top ranked opponents as Peter Aerts
, Mark Hunt
and Remy Bonjasky
. He was the first fighter to beat then-undefeated giant, "The Beast" Bob Sapp
in 86 seconds, breaking Sapp's zygomatic bone with a left kick. In 2000 he beat karate fighter Glaube Feitosa
and boxer
Hiromi Amada
to reach the finals of the Nagoya Grand Prix, losing by first-round TKO to Mike Bernardo in a rematch. Once again, previously acquired injuries were the major factors in this loss. Filipović actually entered the ring limping on one leg due to injuries sustained in previous bouts. Bernardo repeatedly attacked Filipović's damaged leg and rendered him unable to continue due to injuries. Filipović, however, gained tremendous respect among Japanese fight enthusiasts for his courage and heart. As a finalist he progressed to the final eight for the 2000 Grand Prix, but once again dropped a decision to his nemesis Hoost.
In 2001 he was unexpectedly defeated by Canadian fighter Michael McDonald
in the first round. Shortly thereafter, he began a transition to Pride, a Japanese mixed martial arts organization. He fought four more K-1 matches, however, winning each, most notably against Mark Hunt
, Remy Bonjasky
and Bob Sapp
.
in March 2002 (unanimous decision), Remy Bonjasky
in July 2002 (second round TKO) and Bob Sapp
in April 2003 (first round KO).
Following a TKO win over Kazuyuki Fujita
in his MMA debut, Filipović made his Pride debut at Pride 17
against Nobuhiko Takada
. The bout featured a special rule stating if it went to a decision it would be ruled a draw. Neither fighter was able to stop the other but had the fight been scored, Filipović would've won the decision.
Filipović's next Pride fight was against then-middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva
. This bout featured the same rules as the Takada fight and also ended in a draw (although if the fight had been scored again, Wanderlei Silva would've won the decision). On August 28, 2002 Filipović faced Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba
at Pride Shockwave
. Filipović won after fracturing Sakuraba's orbital bone.
His next fight was a rematch with Fujita at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 event where he picked up his fourth victory, this time by decision.
Filipović returned to Pride to face heavyweight
contender Heath Herring
at Pride 26
(June 8, 2003). Filipović defeated Herring decisively, scoring a TKO victory with a left roundhouse body kick to Herring's liver at 3:17 into the fight. His next fight was against Ukrainian
striker Igor Vovchanchyn
at Pride Total Elimination 2003
. Following the powerful kicks of the Herring fight, this fight continued to showcase Filipović's kicking power as he knocked out
Vovchanchyn with a head kick 1:29 into the fight. Filipović then defeated Mexican professional wrestler Dos Caras Jr.
at Pride Bushido 1
, also with a head kick knockout, in 46 seconds.
Filipović's string of Pride wins secured him a chance to fight for the interim heavyweight championship against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
on November 9, 2003. Filipović's stand-up fighting proved effective in the first round, allowing him to control the fight from his feet while defending every takedown attempt Nogueira made, and landing a head-kick at the end of the round. Nogueira, however, prevailed in the second round after finally getting a successful takedown
, forcing Filipović to submit to an armbar after being mounted
. Filipović admitted to Bas Rutten
in a later interview that he was overconfident against Nogueira.
In 2004 Filipović put his K-1 career on hold and recruited Fabricio Werdum
(a former world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
) as his coach, working on improving his ground fighting skills. He went on to win his next two bouts by KO and TKO at a combined time of only 3:49, against Yoshihisa Yamamoto and 280 lb. Ron Waterman.
Filipović then participated in Pride's Heavyweight Grand Prix
. In a upset, Filipović was knocked out in the first round by Kevin Randleman
. Filipović later submitted Randleman in a rematch at the end of 2004.
Filipović repeatedly requested Pride to let him challenge the heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko
. After winning seven straight matches since his loss to Randleman, including a head-kick knockout victory against Alexander Emelianenko (the 6'4", 255 lb (115.7 kg) brother of the champion) and wins over Josh Barnett
, Mark Coleman
and Ibragim Magomedov
, Filipović received a chance to fight Emelianenko for the title on August 28, 2005 at Pride Final Conflict 2005
. After three rounds, Emelianenko won by unanimous decision and retained his title. Filipović later stated on Croatian national television that he came exhausted to the match, mostly because he was not used to the time difference in Japan and he had sleeping problems. He also said many times after the match that he fought too defensively and cautiously. The champion, likewise, was not in his top form. According to Emelianenko he "could not take full advantage of his right hand during the striking exchanges and had to try to close the distance", due to a previous hand injury.
On October 23, 2005, less than two months after the loss to Emelianenko, Filipović stepped back into the ring to rematch open-weight King of Pancrase
Josh Barnett
. After three rounds Filipović received a unanimous judges' decision victory.
On December 31, 2005, Filipović lost his match against Mark Hunt
via split decision. Hunt was the more aggressive fighter, an important criterion in Pride judging. Unusually, Filipović wore shoes for this fight, something that had no precedent. This had led to speculation and statements from his camp about Filipović having sustained injuries to his feet before the fight. Filipović himself has never confirmed these speculations. Filipović also displayed considerable problems with his cardio during his fights with Emelianenko, Barnett and Hunt leading to the speculation that he was much too active and a resting period from the ring would work to his advantage.
event was against Ikuhisa Minowa
, the lighter but highly acclaimed professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Filipović won by TKO 1:10 into the fight. On July 1, 2006 at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute
, Filipović defeated 1992 Olympic judo
gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida
by technical knockout (leg kicks) in the first round to move on to the semi-finals.
On September 10, 2006, Filipović won the Open-Weight Grand Prix at Pride Final Conflict Absolute
. In the semi-finals, Filipović knocked out then-Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva
with his trademark left high kick. In the final match, Filipović won a third victory over Josh Barnett
, who submitted after sustaining an eye injury. With these two victories, Filipović became the Pride Openweight Grand Prix champion, the first widely recognized championship belt he has ever won. In a post-fight interview with Frank Trigg
, Filipović stated if he had not won the tournament, it would have been his last night fighting. The night was also his birthday, and Filipović dedicated winning the tournament to his deceased father.
Also in December 2006, rumors began to surface about Filipović entertaining offers from other mixed martial arts organizations; the Ultimate Fighting Championship was one of the promotions that Filipović confirmed came forward with an offer. Rumors continued to circulate about Filipović's future with the Pride FC organization and soon media websites were reporting that Filipović had chosen the UFC for his future.
UFC president Dana White
and the UFC officially announced on December 30, 2006 during the post-UFC 66
press conference, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, that Filipović had signed a two-year, six-fight deal with the Las Vegas
-based mixed martial arts promoter. It was also announced that Filipović would make his UFC debut on February 3, 2007 at UFC 67
in Las Vegas against Eddie Sanchez
, promoting him under the name Mirko "Cro Cop" alternatively with and without quotation marks. Filipović defeated Sanchez in the first round via TKO. Filipović entered the octagon under the Pride FC theme.
On April 21, 2007, Filipović faced Gabriel Gonzaga
at UFC 70
in Manchester
, England. At 4:51 of round one, Gonzaga won with a head kick knockout. Filipović has stated since that the elbows on the ground confused and damaged him enough that he was disoriented after the stand up, contributing to the subsequent knock-out. During the fall to the canvas, Filipović suffered a minor injury to his ankle and a ligament was detached in his knee.
Filipović's next fight was on September 8, 2007 at UFC 75
against French
kickboxer Cheick Kongo
where he lost via unanimous decision. In a post-fight interview upon his return home, Filipović stated that he cracked a rib during the fight and that the three illegal knees to the groin he received also cost him some strength. Filipović trained with Remy Bonjasky
and Gilbert Yvel
, and 2003 Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion grappler Dean Lister
for this fight. Lister joined Filipović at his home town for a month to train for this upcoming bout.
Filipović's coach was Vos Gym's main trainer and muay thai
practitioner Ivan "Hydro" Hippolyte.
According to his home page, Marijan Žižanović is the new head coach again, since October 1, 2007.
Žižanović was his K-1 trainer.
In September 2007, Filipović underwent nose surgery for a deviated septum.
', co-established by FEG
running K-1 Hero's and the former Yarennoka!
organizing committee members which had managed Pride FC, Filipović officiates ending his career in UFC and the participation into the new event.
After much speculation and many possible rumoured opponents, (including Yoshihiro Nakao
and Dong Sik Yoon
), Fight Entertainment Group confirmed on March 11, 2008 that Filipović would face Tatsuya Mizuno
at Dream 1 on March 15, 2008 at Saitama Arena, in Japan.
When asked about the Croatian's current contract status with the UFC and whether it would interfere with his participation in 'Dream
' events, Dream producer and front man Keiichi Sasahara said, "Though I can't share specific details about his contract, there will not be any foreseeable problems arising."
Filipović was vague in answering the question himself, qualifying his response by mentioning his intent to return to the UFC sometime in the future.
"Well, as you all know, I had a bad period in my last two fights, which I'd lost in the UFC," Filipović said. "I don't want anyone to think that I'm running away from the UFC, but I was thinking a lot about how to continue with my career, and I think in this moment, I think Dream is the right place for me."
"Another thing is that I never liked fighting in the cage. I always liked to fight in the ring. The second thing is that I liked fighting in Japan. Japan is like my second home—I feel like I'm home in Japan. All those reasons [have brought me] here, and I'm very happy that I'm going to fight here in Japan. But of course, one day, I don't know when, but definitely I'll be back in the UFC to show that it was just a bad period for me. Now I'm fully recovered, physically and mentally, most important mentally."
On March 15, 2008 he defeated Tatsuya Mizuno
by TKO in the 1st round at Dream 1.
His next fight was scheduled to be against Jerome Le Banner
at Dream 5, after being rescheduled once due to Filipović sustaining a minor leg injury. However, it was later announced by Filipović himself on his webpage that he would be unable to fight due to his elbow injury worsening and needing surgery. Filipović underwent successful arthroscopic elbow repair in early July.
Filipović's next fight was against Alistair Overeem
at Dream 6 on September 23, 2008. After almost half of the first round saw Overeem takedown Filipović twice and the two fighters exchanging stand-up and ground strikes (with Filipović sustaining a cut) the bout was stopped and declared a no contest due to Overeem landing multiple knees to the groin of Filipović. Filipović stated after the match that he had wanted to continue to fight, as evident by his remaining in the ring, but the ringside doctor would not allow him to continue. Filipović's manager stated that the injury was not serious and that a rematch as soon as possible was sought. Filipović said that he was planning for a long fight and a KO towards the end. He expressed frustration and quoted "I'm angry it ended this way, it seemed as if he was the dominant one, however I wasn't in trouble for a second and was waiting for my opportunities. I prepared very well because I thought the match could last a while. I thought I would knock him down in the end."
Filipović defeated the 30 cm taller and 50 kg heavier opponent from Korea, Choi Hong-man
, on December 31 at FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008
. The winning leg kick was to the back side of his opponent's left knee and resulted in a TKO win for Filipović. After the fight, Filipović announced that he would have a medical procedure carried out on his injured knee.
in Germany
against Mostapha Al-turk
. During the bout, Filipović knocked down Al-Turk with punches within the first round, then allowed him to stand. The fight ended when Filipović finished Al-turk with a flurry of punches.
After the one-fight agreement with the UFC, it was announced Filipović was scheduled to return to Dream
to face Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga
on July 20 at Dream.10. On July 3, 2009 however, it was reported that he might have re-signed with the UFC after getting an offer "he couldn't refuse" by UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta who personally flew to Filipović's residence in Zagreb
. It was later confirmed at the UFC Fan Expo by Fertitta that Filipović had indeed signed a three fight contract with the UFC.
Filipović fought Up and coming striker Junior dos Santos
at UFC 103
. During the third round, Filipović sustained a punch to his left eye that caused him to wave his hand at the referee saying "I can't see". The fight was stopped due to submission, giving Dos Santos the win. After the fight, Filipović showed signs of frustration, stating, "I don't feel the hunger anymore. I started playing it safe, I'm not ready to take risks." A few days later, Filipović seemed more upbeat, and looked to continue his career, saying fighting is the only life he knows, and at least wants to honor the last two fights on his UFC contract. He was quoted as saying, "I did a few things wrong in training and in preparation for the Dos Santos fight, and will find the motivation and strength needed to come back".
Since then, Filipović has hired legendary former Muay Thai champion Ivan Hippolyte
and revamped his whole training team. The source went on to say "After the defeat by Dos Santos, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has announced drastic changes in the training methods and composition of Team CroCop. Marjan Zizanovic is no longer his boxing coach. Instead, Cro Cop is now working with the Dutch Muay Thai legend Ivan Hippolyte, who these days resides in Zagreb. Filipović will combine training at his own facility with visits to the Netherlands where he can train with top-notch sparring partners. Igor Pokrajac
, Cro Cop’s long-time friend and sparring partner, is also no longer in Filipović's team. Pokrajac continues his career with the UFC, but is no longer training with Filipović although the pair remain on good terms."
Filipović was scheduled to face Ben Rothwell
on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110
. Just days before the fight, Rothwell was forced to withdraw from the event because of an illness.
Australian fighter Anthony Perosh
stepped in to replace Rothwell.
During the fight, Filipović dominated for two rounds before opening a cut on Perosh's forehead which forced a doctor stoppage before the third round and awarded the TKO win to Filipović. Filipović fought despite receiving a cut in training that required stitches.
Filipović next fought against fellow former Kickboxer Pat Barry at UFC 115
in Vancouver, Canada. After being knocked down twice to the canvas in the first round by Barry's strikes, he won the second round after utilizing his ground game. The third round saw Filipović open up with a head kick followed by an axe kick to Barry's head. He ended the fight with a strong flurry, dropping Barry against the cage where he continued his assault with numerous punches to the face. He then took his back and defeated Barry by rear naked choke, earning him Submission of the Night honors which Mirko had joked to Dana White and the crowd earlier that he deserved it.
Prior to the Barry fight, Filipović was detained by Canadian officials, who threatened to deport him. He revealed that the Canadian officials had asked for details of his activities in the Lucko ATJ (anti-terrorist unit) that he had joined a few years after the Croatian War of Independence
. Filipović was held for a total of six hours, across two days.
Filipović faced former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir
on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119
, replacing an injured Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
. There was a brief scare the weekend before the fight when Cro Cop suffered an eye injury in Croatia during his final day of training, but upon arrival in the U.S., was medically cleared to compete. It was a largely uneventful fight in which both fighters stayed on their feet. Neither fighter managed to deliver any significant damage to the other until Filipović was defeated by Mir at 4:02 of the third round by knockout due to a knee strike to the head. In a later interview for a Croatian television station Cro Cop stated that he suffered a disc herniation three weeks before the fight with Mir. He decided not to inform the UFC about this injury because he believed it would seem as if he was trying to pull out of the fight.
Mirko Filipović was defeated by Ultimate Fighter alumni Brendan Schaub
on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones
by way of knockout at 3:44 of the third round. Shortly after the knockout loss to Schaub, Dana White
stated that Filipović is most likely retiring. Since this time, Dana White has appeared to have had a change of heart. In a recent interview White said "This guy wants to fight again, and I owe him another fight." White also added "Do I think he should have retired? Yeah," White said. "But I don't think he's in one of these situations like Chuck Liddell, who needed to retire right then. He's a man, a grown man, and if he wants to continue to fight, that's his right."
In his last fight with the UFC, Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic was defeated by Roy Nelson
at UFC 137
by TKO due to punches in round 3. Even though he looked to be in good physical condition for the fight, he still did not look like the same fighter from his days in PRIDE FC. In an interview to a Croatian television station Filipovic revealed that he suffered a hand injury in training 10 days before the fight. Filipovic said the injury came as a result of him sparing with Pat Barry and that the doctors told him he had to go into surgery because a tendon had separated from a bone, but he refused. Filipovic decided to go through with the fight without informing the UFC officials about his injury.
In a recent interview Cro Cop said that he has not completely retired, but that his days with the UFC, and possibly MMA, are now finished.
He announced that he will be organizing an event in Croatia on March 10th 2012 where he will fight in front of the Croatian audience for the second time in his career. His opponent is still unknown, but he said that he wants to bring a 'big' name to fight him at the event. Fight will be held under K1 rules.
in Vinkovci
, Croatia
, the son of Žarko and Ana Filipović.
Filipović and his wife Klaudija have a son named Ivan. The couple had their second child, a son named Filip on November 22, 2010.
On his UFC profile, Filipović lists his father as his hero.
as Axon Rey
Mixed martial arts
Kickboxing
| Loss
|align=center| 27–10–2
| Roy Nelson
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 137
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 1:30
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 27–9–2
| Brendan Schaub
| KO (punch)
| UFC 128
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 3:44
| Newark, New Jersey
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 27–8–2
| Frank Mir
| KO (knee)
| UFC 119
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 4:02
| Indianapolis, Indiana
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 27–7–2
| Pat Barry
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| UFC 115
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 4:30
| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 26–7–2
| Anthony Perosh
| TKO (doctor stoppage)
| UFC 110
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Sydney
, Australia
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 25–7–2
| Junior dos Santos
| Submission (punch)
| UFC 103
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 2:00
| Dallas, Texas
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 25–6–2
|Mostapha Al-turk
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 99
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:06
| Cologne
, Germany
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 24–6–2
| Choi Hong-man
| TKO (low kick)
| Dynamite!! 2008
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 6:32
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| NC
|align=center| 23–6–3
| Alistair Overeem
| No Contest (Illegal Knee to the Groin)
| Dream 6
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 6:09
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 23–6–2
| Tatsuya Mizuno
| TKO (punches)
| Dream 1
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:56
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 22–6–2
| Cheick Kongo
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 75
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| London
, England
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 22–5–2
| Gabriel Gonzaga
| KO (head kick)
| UFC 70
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4:51
| Manchester
, England
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 22–4–2
| Eddie Sanchez
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 67
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4:33
| Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 21–4–2
| Josh Barnett
| Submission (punches)
| Pride Final Conflict Absolute
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7:32
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 20–4–2
| Wanderlei Silva
| KO (head kick)
| Pride Final Conflict Absolute
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 5:22
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 19–4–2
| Hidehiko Yoshida
| TKO (leg kicks)
| Pride Critical Countdown Absolute
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7:38
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 18–4–2
| Ikuhisa Minowa
| TKO (punches)
| Pride Total Elimination Absolute
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:10
| Osaka, Osaka, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 17–4–2
| Mark Hunt
| Decision (split)
| Pride Shockwave 2005
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 17–3–2
| Josh Barnett
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride 30
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 16–3–2
| Fedor Emelianenko
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride Final Conflict 2005
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 16–2–2
| Ibragim Magomedov
| KO (kick to the body)
| Pride Critical Countdown 2005
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:53
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15–2–2
| Mark Coleman
| KO (punches)
| Pride 29
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:40
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–2–2
| Kevin Randleman
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Pride Shockwave 2004
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:41
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–2–2
| Josh Barnett
| Submission (shoulder injury)
| Pride 28
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:46
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–2–2
| Alexander Emelianenko
| KO (head kick and punches)
| Pride Final Conflict 2004
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:09
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–2–2
| Shungo Oyama
| TKO (punches)
| Pride Bushido 4
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:00
| Nagoya, Aichi
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–2–2
| Hiromitsu Kanehara
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride Bushido 3
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 9–2–2
| Kevin Randleman
| KO (punches)
| Pride Total Elimination 2004
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:57
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–1–2
| Yoshihisa Yamamoto
| TKO (punches)
| Pride Bushido 2
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:12
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–1–2
| Ron Waterman
| TKO (soccer kicks)
| Pride 27
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4:37
| Osaka, Osaka, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 7–1–2
| Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
| Submission (armbar)
| Pride Final Conflict 2003
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:45
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–0–2
| Alberto Rodriguez
| KO (head kick)
| Pride Bushido 1
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:46
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–0–2
| Igor Vovchanchyn
| KO (head kick)
| Pride Total Elimination 2003
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:29
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0–2
| Heath Herring
| TKO (kick to the body and punches)
| Pride 26
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:17
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0–2
| Kazuyuki Fujita
| Decision (unanimous)
| Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0–2
| Kazushi Sakuraba
| TKO (eye injury)
| Pride Shockwave
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Draw
|align=center| 2–0–2
| Wanderlei Silva
| Draw
| Pride 20
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 3:00
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0–1
| Yuji Nagata
| TKO (punches)
| Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:21
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Draw
|align=center| 1–0–1
| Nobuhiko Takada
| Draw
| Pride 17
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 3:00
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
| Kazuyuki Fujita
| TKO (cut)
| K-1: Andy Hug Memorial
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:39
| Saitama, Saitama
, Japan
|
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
kickboxer
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
, mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
, politician, and law enforcement officer
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007. His nickname, Cro Cop, short for "Croatian Cop", comes from his membership in the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, Croatia's elite Police Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
tactical unit.
Filipović has been successful in both K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
and Pride Fighting Championships. On September 10, 2006, he won the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix, and in 2007 began fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
(UFC). Filipović is famous for his left head kicks. He has been famously quoted as describing his kicks as, "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery."
Professional career
A martial arts enthusiast since his youth, Filipović started his professional career in 1996 as a kickboxer, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Branko CikatićBranko Cikatic
Branko "The Croatian Tiger" Cikatić is a Croatian former heavyweight kickboxer, the first Croatian born fighter to achieve international success...
. Before turning pro Filipović was said to have accumulated an amateur boxing record of 40–5 (31 KO's). At the time, Filipović was working as a commando in the Croatian police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
anti-terrorist unit Alpha (stationed in Lučko near Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
), which earned him his nickname "Cro Cop". He also fought several times early in his career under the nickname "Tigar" (Croatian for "tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
"). His entrance theme song is The Wild Boys
The Wild Boys (song)
"The Wild Boys" is the twelfth single by Duran Duran, released in October 1984.The song was the only studio track on the live album Arena, and was produced by Nile Rodgers, who had previously remixed the single "The Reflex"...
by Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
.
K-1
In 1996, at the age of 22, Filipović entered the K-1 World Grand PrixK-1 World Grand Prix
K-1 World Grand Prix, also known as the K-1 World GP, is an elimination kickboxing tournament that has been held annually since 1993 by the K-1 organization. Each year, K-1 holds various 16-men, 8-match grand prix style tournaments throughout the world to determine which 16 fighters will compete in...
elimination tournament. After defeating the previous year's finalist, Jérôme Le Banner
Jérôme Le Banner
Jérôme "Geronimo" Le Banner , is a French kickboxer and K-1 superstar, famous for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power....
, Filipović was stopped in the next round by Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Hoost
Ernesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
. He returned to K-1 three years later in 1999, knocking out British fighter Ricky "Tank" Nicholson, but subsequently dropped a decision against Swiss fighter, Xhavit Bajrami
Xhavit Bajrami
Xhavit Bajrami is a Swiss kickboxer of Kosovar Albanian descent.-Biography:Bajrami was born in Pristina to Kosovar Albanian parents, the family later relocated to Switzerland. His family originate from south of Pristina. He became an accomplished kickboxer and won the K-1 Braves 1999 Champion...
. Despite this, Filipović was given a wildcard into the world tournament where he shocked the kickboxing world by defeating highly regarded K-1 fighter Mike Bernardo
Mike Bernardo
Michael "Mike" Bernardo is a South African former kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. Bernardo is known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he has taken part in K-1 World GPs since 1994...
. Filipović went on to knock out Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
star Musashi
Musashi (kickboxer)
is a retired professional Japanese Heavyweight karateka and kickboxer. He is 4 time K-1 Japan tournament champion, a former WAKO Heavyweight Muay Thai champion and two time K-1 World Grand Prix finalist...
and Australian karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
fighter Sam Greco
Sam Greco
Sam "Slam 'em" Greco is a retired Australian super heavyweight kickboxer, heavyweight mixed martial artist and professional wrestler of Italian descent, who fought in Kyokushin karate, professional kickboxing, and K-1 tournaments....
on the same night before being stopped again by Hoost. It was later revealed that Filipović actually entered the ring with a broken rib, a result of his previous fights.
Filipović continued to have successes in K-1, winning a number of matches against such top ranked opponents as Peter Aerts
Peter Aerts
Peter "The Dutch Lumberjack" Aerts is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix and Muay Thai World Champion. Aerts is best known for his powerful strikes and high kicks.- Biography :...
, Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...
and Remy Bonjasky
Remy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
. He was the first fighter to beat then-undefeated giant, "The Beast" Bob Sapp
Bob Sapp
Robert Malcolm "Bob" Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor, comedian and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has a combined fight record of 21–21–0, mostly fighting in Japan...
in 86 seconds, breaking Sapp's zygomatic bone with a left kick. In 2000 he beat karate fighter Glaube Feitosa
Glaube Feitosa
Glaube "Brazilian Warrior" Feitosa is a Brazilian former kickboxer and a kyokushin full contact karate practitioner who was competing in K-1. In 2005 Feitosa won K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas tournament and was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 finalist...
and boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Hiromi Amada
Hiromi Amada
Hiromi Amada is a Japanese super heavyweight kickboxer and boxer from Gunma, Japan competing in K-1.-Biography and career:He made his K-1 debut in 1999 with a unanimous decision win over John Wyatt...
to reach the finals of the Nagoya Grand Prix, losing by first-round TKO to Mike Bernardo in a rematch. Once again, previously acquired injuries were the major factors in this loss. Filipović actually entered the ring limping on one leg due to injuries sustained in previous bouts. Bernardo repeatedly attacked Filipović's damaged leg and rendered him unable to continue due to injuries. Filipović, however, gained tremendous respect among Japanese fight enthusiasts for his courage and heart. As a finalist he progressed to the final eight for the 2000 Grand Prix, but once again dropped a decision to his nemesis Hoost.
In 2001 he was unexpectedly defeated by Canadian fighter Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (kickboxer)
Michael "The Black Sniper" McDonald is a retired Canadian Heavyweight kickboxer. He is the former three time K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas tournament champion.-Early life:Michael McDonald was born in Birmingham, England...
in the first round. Shortly thereafter, he began a transition to Pride, a Japanese mixed martial arts organization. He fought four more K-1 matches, however, winning each, most notably against Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...
, Remy Bonjasky
Remy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
and Bob Sapp
Bob Sapp
Robert Malcolm "Bob" Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor, comedian and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has a combined fight record of 21–21–0, mostly fighting in Japan...
.
Pride FC
In 2001, Filipović began his switch to fighting in Pride, citing personal challenge as well as dissatisfaction with K-1 salaries. A year later, he also left his job at the anti-terrorist unit in order to focus fully on his martial arts career. Since then, Filipović maintained a comparably low kickboxing profile, but nevertheless scored some impressive K-1 victories, most notably against Mark HuntMark Hunt
Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...
in March 2002 (unanimous decision), Remy Bonjasky
Remy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
in July 2002 (second round TKO) and Bob Sapp
Bob Sapp
Robert Malcolm "Bob" Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor, comedian and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has a combined fight record of 21–21–0, mostly fighting in Japan...
in April 2003 (first round KO).
Following a TKO win over Kazuyuki Fujita
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....
in his MMA debut, Filipović made his Pride debut at Pride 17
PRIDE 17
Pride 17: Championship Chaos was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 3, 2001. This event also saw the crowning of the first Pride FC Heavyweight and Middleweight champions.-Results: Renzo Gracie vs. ...
against Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He is best known for helping to popularize shoot-style professional wrestling, as one of the biggest stars of the Universal Wrestling Federation and Union of Wrestling Force International in the '80s and '90s. He...
. The bout featured a special rule stating if it went to a decision it would be ruled a draw. Neither fighter was able to stop the other but had the fight been scored, Filipović would've won the decision.
Filipović's next Pride fight was against then-middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
. This bout featured the same rules as the Takada fight and also ended in a draw (although if the fight had been scored again, Wanderlei Silva would've won the decision). On August 28, 2002 Filipović faced Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
at Pride Shockwave
PRIDE Shockwave
PRIDE Shockwave was a mixed martial arts and kickboxing event co-promoted by the PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1 promotions on August 28, 2002. It was held at the Tokyo National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. This event holds the Pride FC attendance record with 91,107 spectators...
. Filipović won after fracturing Sakuraba's orbital bone.
His next fight was a rematch with Fujita at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 event where he picked up his fourth victory, this time by decision.
Filipović returned to Pride to face heavyweight
Heavyweight (MMA)
The heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally groups fighters between .Although many ambiguities exist within the lower weight classes regarding division naming and weight limits, the Heavyweight division is, for the most part, uniform...
contender Heath Herring
Heath Herring
Heath Herring is an inactive American Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist who attained popularity fighting for PRIDE FC in Japan and most recently fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
at Pride 26
PRIDE 26
Pride 26: Bad to the Bone was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on June 8, 2003....
(June 8, 2003). Filipović defeated Herring decisively, scoring a TKO victory with a left roundhouse body kick to Herring's liver at 3:17 into the fight. His next fight was against Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
striker Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....
at Pride Total Elimination 2003
PRIDE Total Elimination 2003
PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by PRIDE Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on August 10, 2003. This event was host to the quarterfinals of the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix tournament...
. Following the powerful kicks of the Herring fight, this fight continued to showcase Filipović's kicking power as he knocked out
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
Vovchanchyn with a head kick 1:29 into the fight. Filipović then defeated Mexican professional wrestler Dos Caras Jr.
Dos Caras Jr.
Alberto Rodríguez is a Mexican professional wrestler signed to WWE, performing under the ring name Alberto Del Rio and appearing on the Raw brand. He is a former two-time WWE Champion, while also being the 2011 Royal Rumble winner, outlasting 39 other participants to win the largest Royal Rumble...
at Pride Bushido 1
PRIDE Bushido 1
PRIDE Bushido 1 was a mixed martial arts event held by the PRIDE Fighting Championships. The card was billed as Team Japan Vs. Team Gracie, with five events represented by both a "coach" Hidehiko Yoshida fighter and a "coach" Royce Gracie fighter . It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in...
, also with a head kick knockout, in 46 seconds.
Filipović's string of Pride wins secured him a chance to fight for the interim heavyweight championship against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
on November 9, 2003. Filipović's stand-up fighting proved effective in the first round, allowing him to control the fight from his feet while defending every takedown attempt Nogueira made, and landing a head-kick at the end of the round. Nogueira, however, prevailed in the second round after finally getting a successful takedown
Takedown (grappling)
A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...
, forcing Filipović to submit to an armbar after being mounted
Mount (grappling)
The mount, or mounted position, is a dominant ground grappling position, where one combatant sits on the other combatants torso with the face pointing towards the opponent's head. This is very favourable for the top combatant in several ways...
. Filipović admitted to Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
in a later interview that he was overconfident against Nogueira.
In 2004 Filipović put his K-1 career on hold and recruited Fabricio Werdum
Fabricio Werdum
Fabricio Werdum is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, a two-time ADCC world heavyweight champion and European Jiu-Jitsu champion. He holds black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Muay Thai. Werdum has competed in Pride Fighting Championships, the...
(a former world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
) as his coach, working on improving his ground fighting skills. He went on to win his next two bouts by KO and TKO at a combined time of only 3:49, against Yoshihisa Yamamoto and 280 lb. Ron Waterman.
Filipović then participated in Pride's Heavyweight Grand Prix
PRIDE Total Elimination 2004
Pride Total Elimination 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. This event consisted of the first round of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix...
. In a upset, Filipović was knocked out in the first round by Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
. Filipović later submitted Randleman in a rematch at the end of 2004.
Filipović repeatedly requested Pride to let him challenge the heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the Pride 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo...
. After winning seven straight matches since his loss to Randleman, including a head-kick knockout victory against Alexander Emelianenko (the 6'4", 255 lb (115.7 kg) brother of the champion) and wins over Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
, Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
and Ibragim Magomedov
Ibragim Magomedov
Ibragim Magomedov is a Russian mixed martial artist, whose height is and weight is 112.7 kg .Born in Makhachkala, Dagestan on June 8, 1972, Magomedov made his MMA debut in 2000 at Samurai 2000 Tournament where he defeated the Japanese fighter Ryushi Yanagisawa.After being discovered by Satoru...
, Filipović received a chance to fight Emelianenko for the title on August 28, 2005 at Pride Final Conflict 2005
PRIDE Final Conflict 2005
Pride Final Conflict 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. This event featured the much anticipated heavyweight title fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko Cro Cop and also the final round of the 2005 Middleweight Tournament...
. After three rounds, Emelianenko won by unanimous decision and retained his title. Filipović later stated on Croatian national television that he came exhausted to the match, mostly because he was not used to the time difference in Japan and he had sleeping problems. He also said many times after the match that he fought too defensively and cautiously. The champion, likewise, was not in his top form. According to Emelianenko he "could not take full advantage of his right hand during the striking exchanges and had to try to close the distance", due to a previous hand injury.
On October 23, 2005, less than two months after the loss to Emelianenko, Filipović stepped back into the ring to rematch open-weight King of Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
. After three rounds Filipović received a unanimous judges' decision victory.
On December 31, 2005, Filipović lost his match against Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...
via split decision. Hunt was the more aggressive fighter, an important criterion in Pride judging. Unusually, Filipović wore shoes for this fight, something that had no precedent. This had led to speculation and statements from his camp about Filipović having sustained injuries to his feet before the fight. Filipović himself has never confirmed these speculations. Filipović also displayed considerable problems with his cardio during his fights with Emelianenko, Barnett and Hunt leading to the speculation that he was much too active and a resting period from the ring would work to his advantage.
Pride Openweight Grand Prix Champion
Filipović re-entered the Pride ring, competing in Pride's 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix on May 5, 2006. It was during this tournament that he came up with the quote, "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery". His first match at the Pride Total Elimination AbsolutePRIDE Total Elimination Absolute
Pride Total Elimination Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan on May 5, 2006.-Background:...
event was against Ikuhisa Minowa
Ikuhisa Minowa
is a Japanese mixed martial artist and pro wrestler currently competing in Dream as . He was a long time veteran of Pride Fighting Championships and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions such as K-1 HERO'S, Cage Rage, UFC, and DEEP. At 5'9" he is notable for taking...
, the lighter but highly acclaimed professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Filipović won by TKO 1:10 into the fight. On July 1, 2006 at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute
PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute
Pride Critical Countdown Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on July 1, 2006.-Background:...
, Filipović defeated 1992 Olympic judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida
Hidehiko Yoshida
is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a long time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships, competing in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, also managing to fight in the semi-finals in the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix...
by technical knockout (leg kicks) in the first round to move on to the semi-finals.
On September 10, 2006, Filipović won the Open-Weight Grand Prix at Pride Final Conflict Absolute
PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute
Pride Final Conflict Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on September 10, 2006.-Background:...
. In the semi-finals, Filipović knocked out then-Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
with his trademark left high kick. In the final match, Filipović won a third victory over Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
, who submitted after sustaining an eye injury. With these two victories, Filipović became the Pride Openweight Grand Prix champion, the first widely recognized championship belt he has ever won. In a post-fight interview with Frank Trigg
Frank Trigg
Dewey Franklin Trigg III is an American mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler and co-host of MMAWeekly radio show and TAGG radio show...
, Filipović stated if he had not won the tournament, it would have been his last night fighting. The night was also his birthday, and Filipović dedicated winning the tournament to his deceased father.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
After his victory at the Open-Weight Grand Prix, a rematch between Filipović and Fedor Emelianenko failed to materialize and on December 12, 2006 Filipović pulled out of the New Year's Eve event, citing both a foot injury and Emelianenko's commitment to meet Mark Hunt at the card in question. Through his official website, Filipović revealed "I still can't kick like I want to. It's the best that we give more time to this injury to heal. I want to be in perfect shape for my next fights."Also in December 2006, rumors began to surface about Filipović entertaining offers from other mixed martial arts organizations; the Ultimate Fighting Championship was one of the promotions that Filipović confirmed came forward with an offer. Rumors continued to circulate about Filipović's future with the Pride FC organization and soon media websites were reporting that Filipović had chosen the UFC for his future.
UFC president Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
and the UFC officially announced on December 30, 2006 during the post-UFC 66
UFC 66
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada .-Background:...
press conference, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, that Filipović had signed a two-year, six-fight deal with the Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
-based mixed martial arts promoter. It was also announced that Filipović would make his UFC debut on February 3, 2007 at UFC 67
UFC 67
UFC 67: All or Nothing was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada...
in Las Vegas against Eddie Sanchez
Eddie Sanchez
Eduardo Arturo Sanchez is an American mixed martial arts fighter.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:On February 3, 2007 at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC 67, he lost to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović by technical knockout due to punches at 4:33 of the first round, in Filipović's debut fight in...
, promoting him under the name Mirko "Cro Cop" alternatively with and without quotation marks. Filipović defeated Sanchez in the first round via TKO. Filipović entered the octagon under the Pride FC theme.
On April 21, 2007, Filipović faced Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a former member of Chute Boxe Academy and now fights out of Ludlow, Massachusetts as a part of Team Link...
at UFC 70
UFC 70
UFC 70: Nations Collide was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The first UFC event in the UK was UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall on July 13, 2002. UFC 70 was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. At 4:51 of round one, Gonzaga won with a head kick knockout. Filipović has stated since that the elbows on the ground confused and damaged him enough that he was disoriented after the stand up, contributing to the subsequent knock-out. During the fall to the canvas, Filipović suffered a minor injury to his ankle and a ligament was detached in his knee.
Filipović's next fight was on September 8, 2007 at UFC 75
UFC 75
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.The event was held September 8, 2007 at The O2 in London, England. The event was on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom, TV4 Sport in Sweden, PPV1 in Ireland, and offered on tape delay on...
against French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
kickboxer Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo , more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
where he lost via unanimous decision. In a post-fight interview upon his return home, Filipović stated that he cracked a rib during the fight and that the three illegal knees to the groin he received also cost him some strength. Filipović trained with Remy Bonjasky
Remy Bonjasky
Remy "The Flying Gentleman" Bonjasky is a Dutch super heavyweight kickboxer of Surinamese descent. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion, who has won the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008...
and Gilbert Yvel
Gilbert Yvel
Gilbert Ramon Yvel is a Dutch heavyweight mixed martial artist associated with the Vos Gym training camp in the Netherlands. He has competed in the Pride Fighting Championships, Affliction Entertainment and Ultimate Fighting Championship promotions...
, and 2003 Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion grappler Dean Lister
Dean Lister
Dean Richard Lister is an American mixed martial artist and a former King of the Cage champion. He currently fights at the Middleweight division after moving down from the Light Heavyweight class...
for this fight. Lister joined Filipović at his home town for a month to train for this upcoming bout.
Filipović's coach was Vos Gym's main trainer and muay thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
practitioner Ivan "Hydro" Hippolyte.
According to his home page, Marijan Žižanović is the new head coach again, since October 1, 2007.
Žižanović was his K-1 trainer.
In September 2007, Filipović underwent nose surgery for a deviated septum.
Dream
On February 12, 2008, Filipović announced a visit to Japan on his blog. With the foundation of the new MMA event, 'DreamDREAM (mixed martial arts)
Dream is a mixed martial arts organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. DREAM replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retains many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC...
', co-established by FEG
FEG
FÉG stands for Fegyver És Gépgyár, which could be translated as "Arms and Machine Factory". It comes from the Hungarian "Fegyver- és Gépgyártó Részvénytársaság"...
running K-1 Hero's and the former Yarennoka!
Yarennoka!
Yarennoka! was a mixed martial arts event that took place on December 31, 2007 at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The event was promoted by the Yarrenoka! Executive Committee, composed of former Pride Fighting Championships executives, and held in association with Fighting and...
organizing committee members which had managed Pride FC, Filipović officiates ending his career in UFC and the participation into the new event.
After much speculation and many possible rumoured opponents, (including Yoshihiro Nakao
Yoshihiro Nakao
Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao is a Japanese heavyweight mixed martial artist and former K-1 kickboxer who has defeated the likes of Don Frye, Jim York, Wesley Correira, and Edson Draggo. He is currently under contract to fight for DREAM and World Victory Road promotions...
and Dong Sik Yoon
Yoon Dong-Sik
*1992 World Youth Championships - 2nd place*1992 Italian Open - gold medal*1993 Asian Championships - 3rd place*1993 German Open - gold medal*1993 Paris Open - 2nd place*1993 Austrian Open - gold medal*1994 Austrian Open - gold medal...
), Fight Entertainment Group confirmed on March 11, 2008 that Filipović would face Tatsuya Mizuno
Tatsuya Mizuno
is a Japanese light heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has fought at events of Dream, Pancrase and M-1 Global.-Biography and career:Mizuno started competing in judo in high school, and holds a 3rd dan black belt in the discipline...
at Dream 1 on March 15, 2008 at Saitama Arena, in Japan.
When asked about the Croatian's current contract status with the UFC and whether it would interfere with his participation in 'Dream
DREAM (mixed martial arts)
Dream is a mixed martial arts organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. DREAM replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retains many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC...
' events, Dream producer and front man Keiichi Sasahara said, "Though I can't share specific details about his contract, there will not be any foreseeable problems arising."
Filipović was vague in answering the question himself, qualifying his response by mentioning his intent to return to the UFC sometime in the future.
"Well, as you all know, I had a bad period in my last two fights, which I'd lost in the UFC," Filipović said. "I don't want anyone to think that I'm running away from the UFC, but I was thinking a lot about how to continue with my career, and I think in this moment, I think Dream is the right place for me."
"Another thing is that I never liked fighting in the cage. I always liked to fight in the ring. The second thing is that I liked fighting in Japan. Japan is like my second home—I feel like I'm home in Japan. All those reasons [have brought me] here, and I'm very happy that I'm going to fight here in Japan. But of course, one day, I don't know when, but definitely I'll be back in the UFC to show that it was just a bad period for me. Now I'm fully recovered, physically and mentally, most important mentally."
On March 15, 2008 he defeated Tatsuya Mizuno
Tatsuya Mizuno
is a Japanese light heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has fought at events of Dream, Pancrase and M-1 Global.-Biography and career:Mizuno started competing in judo in high school, and holds a 3rd dan black belt in the discipline...
by TKO in the 1st round at Dream 1.
His next fight was scheduled to be against Jerome Le Banner
Jérôme Le Banner
Jérôme "Geronimo" Le Banner , is a French kickboxer and K-1 superstar, famous for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power....
at Dream 5, after being rescheduled once due to Filipović sustaining a minor leg injury. However, it was later announced by Filipović himself on his webpage that he would be unable to fight due to his elbow injury worsening and needing surgery. Filipović underwent successful arthroscopic elbow repair in early July.
Filipović's next fight was against Alistair Overeem
Alistair Overeem
Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...
at Dream 6 on September 23, 2008. After almost half of the first round saw Overeem takedown Filipović twice and the two fighters exchanging stand-up and ground strikes (with Filipović sustaining a cut) the bout was stopped and declared a no contest due to Overeem landing multiple knees to the groin of Filipović. Filipović stated after the match that he had wanted to continue to fight, as evident by his remaining in the ring, but the ringside doctor would not allow him to continue. Filipović's manager stated that the injury was not serious and that a rematch as soon as possible was sought. Filipović said that he was planning for a long fight and a KO towards the end. He expressed frustration and quoted "I'm angry it ended this way, it seemed as if he was the dominant one, however I wasn't in trouble for a second and was waiting for my opportunities. I prepared very well because I thought the match could last a while. I thought I would knock him down in the end."
Filipović defeated the 30 cm taller and 50 kg heavier opponent from Korea, Choi Hong-man
Choi Hong-man
Choi Hong-man , often anglicised to Hong-man Choi, is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia he is called "Che Man", "Korean Monster" and "Korean Colossus"...
, on December 31 at FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008
Dynamite!! 2008
Dynamite!! 2008 was the annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts event held by K-1 & DREAM on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, December 31, 2008, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan...
. The winning leg kick was to the back side of his opponent's left knee and resulted in a TKO win for Filipović. After the fight, Filipović announced that he would have a medical procedure carried out on his injured knee.
Return to the UFC
On May 18 Filipović issued a press release on his official website and his MMAid account stating his scheduled return to the UFC. His first match upon returning was at UFC 99UFC 99
UFC 99: The Comeback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 13, 2009 in Cologne, Germany. It was the first UFC event held in Germany, as well as the first in mainland Europe .-Background:On Monday, June 1, the...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
against Mostapha Al-turk
Mostapha Al-turk
Mostapha al-Turk is a retired Lebanese-born English mixed martial artist and submission wrestler. He has trained with London Shootfighters for the past ten years. Turk was the ADCC European Champion in 2005 and was the British Cage Rage Heavyweight Champion, before relinquishing his title to sign...
. During the bout, Filipović knocked down Al-Turk with punches within the first round, then allowed him to stand. The fight ended when Filipović finished Al-turk with a flurry of punches.
After the one-fight agreement with the UFC, it was announced Filipović was scheduled to return to Dream
DREAM (mixed martial arts)
Dream is a mixed martial arts organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. DREAM replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retains many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC...
to face Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga
Mighty Mo (kickboxer)
Siala-Mou "Mighty Mo" Siliga , is an American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist, fighting out of Millennia MMA. He is the K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Las Vegas II and the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hawaii tournament champion....
on July 20 at Dream.10. On July 3, 2009 however, it was reported that he might have re-signed with the UFC after getting an offer "he couldn't refuse" by UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta who personally flew to Filipović's residence in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. It was later confirmed at the UFC Fan Expo by Fertitta that Filipović had indeed signed a three fight contract with the UFC.
Filipović fought Up and coming striker Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos Almeida, also known as Junior Cigano , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC...
at UFC 103
UFC 103
UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 19, 2009 in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcasted on pay-per-view.-Background :...
. During the third round, Filipović sustained a punch to his left eye that caused him to wave his hand at the referee saying "I can't see". The fight was stopped due to submission, giving Dos Santos the win. After the fight, Filipović showed signs of frustration, stating, "I don't feel the hunger anymore. I started playing it safe, I'm not ready to take risks." A few days later, Filipović seemed more upbeat, and looked to continue his career, saying fighting is the only life he knows, and at least wants to honor the last two fights on his UFC contract. He was quoted as saying, "I did a few things wrong in training and in preparation for the Dos Santos fight, and will find the motivation and strength needed to come back".
Since then, Filipović has hired legendary former Muay Thai champion Ivan Hippolyte
Ivan Hippolyte
Ivan "The Hydro" Hippolyte is a Dutch-Surinamese former kickboxer and Muay Thai World champion. He is currently a martial arts coach at the Vos Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the same gym he used to fight out of during his active career...
and revamped his whole training team. The source went on to say "After the defeat by Dos Santos, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has announced drastic changes in the training methods and composition of Team CroCop. Marjan Zizanovic is no longer his boxing coach. Instead, Cro Cop is now working with the Dutch Muay Thai legend Ivan Hippolyte, who these days resides in Zagreb. Filipović will combine training at his own facility with visits to the Netherlands where he can train with top-notch sparring partners. Igor Pokrajac
Igor Pokrajac
Igor Pokrajac is a Croatian mixed martial artist currently fighting at Light Heavyweight.-Mixed martial arts career:Pokrajac started his professional MMA career in 2003, primarily competing in his native Croatia...
, Cro Cop’s long-time friend and sparring partner, is also no longer in Filipović's team. Pokrajac continues his career with the UFC, but is no longer training with Filipović although the pair remain on good terms."
Filipović was scheduled to face Ben Rothwell
Ben Rothwell
Ben Rothwell is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Mixed martial arts career:...
on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110
UFC 110
UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday, 21 February 2010 in Sydney, Australia, at the Acer Arena. The event marked the UFC's first trip to Australia. The main card was scheduled for 2:00 pm Sunday in Sydney to cater...
. Just days before the fight, Rothwell was forced to withdraw from the event because of an illness.
Australian fighter Anthony Perosh
Anthony Perosh
Anthony Perosh is an Australian mixed martial artist competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competes in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions...
stepped in to replace Rothwell.
During the fight, Filipović dominated for two rounds before opening a cut on Perosh's forehead which forced a doctor stoppage before the third round and awarded the TKO win to Filipović. Filipović fought despite receiving a cut in training that required stitches.
Filipović next fought against fellow former Kickboxer Pat Barry at UFC 115
UFC 115
UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Background:...
in Vancouver, Canada. After being knocked down twice to the canvas in the first round by Barry's strikes, he won the second round after utilizing his ground game. The third round saw Filipović open up with a head kick followed by an axe kick to Barry's head. He ended the fight with a strong flurry, dropping Barry against the cage where he continued his assault with numerous punches to the face. He then took his back and defeated Barry by rear naked choke, earning him Submission of the Night honors which Mirko had joked to Dana White and the crowd earlier that he deserved it.
Prior to the Barry fight, Filipović was detained by Canadian officials, who threatened to deport him. He revealed that the Canadian officials had asked for details of his activities in the Lucko ATJ (anti-terrorist unit) that he had joined a few years after the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
. Filipović was held for a total of six hours, across two days.
Filipović faced former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir
Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate, who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119
UFC 119
UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 25, 2010, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The event was the first that the UFC hosted in Indiana.-Background:...
, replacing an injured Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
. There was a brief scare the weekend before the fight when Cro Cop suffered an eye injury in Croatia during his final day of training, but upon arrival in the U.S., was medically cleared to compete. It was a largely uneventful fight in which both fighters stayed on their feet. Neither fighter managed to deliver any significant damage to the other until Filipović was defeated by Mir at 4:02 of the third round by knockout due to a knee strike to the head. In a later interview for a Croatian television station Cro Cop stated that he suffered a disc herniation three weeks before the fight with Mir. He decided not to inform the UFC about this injury because he believed it would seem as if he was trying to pull out of the fight.
Mirko Filipović was defeated by Ultimate Fighter alumni Brendan Schaub
Brendan Schaub
Brendan Peter Schaub is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional football player for the AFL's Utah Blaze and as a member of the Buffalo Bills practice squad. He was a finalist and the runner-up of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.-Biography:Schaub was...
on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones
UFC 128
UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.-Background:...
by way of knockout at 3:44 of the third round. Shortly after the knockout loss to Schaub, Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
stated that Filipović is most likely retiring. Since this time, Dana White has appeared to have had a change of heart. In a recent interview White said "This guy wants to fight again, and I owe him another fight." White also added "Do I think he should have retired? Yeah," White said. "But I don't think he's in one of these situations like Chuck Liddell, who needed to retire right then. He's a man, a grown man, and if he wants to continue to fight, that's his right."
In his last fight with the UFC, Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic was defeated by Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson was a cartoonist and caricaturist. His remarkable talent for drawing was recognized at an early age, and after high school he was accepted into the Art Institute of Chicago...
at UFC 137
UFC 137
UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 29, 2011 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
by TKO due to punches in round 3. Even though he looked to be in good physical condition for the fight, he still did not look like the same fighter from his days in PRIDE FC. In an interview to a Croatian television station Filipovic revealed that he suffered a hand injury in training 10 days before the fight. Filipovic said the injury came as a result of him sparing with Pat Barry and that the doctors told him he had to go into surgery because a tendon had separated from a bone, but he refused. Filipovic decided to go through with the fight without informing the UFC officials about his injury.
Retirement from the UFC
After the loss to Roy Nelson, Mirko said farewell, stating "I was treated like a king from the beginning. It's in my best interest that this is my farewell fight, thanks everybody." Saying farewell and leaving the cage for the final time.In a recent interview Cro Cop said that he has not completely retired, but that his days with the UFC, and possibly MMA, are now finished.
He announced that he will be organizing an event in Croatia on March 10th 2012 where he will fight in front of the Croatian audience for the second time in his career. His opponent is still unknown, but he said that he wants to bring a 'big' name to fight him at the event. Fight will be held under K1 rules.
Personal life
Filipović was born in the village of PrivlakaPrivlaka
Privlaka may refer to:*Privlaka, Vukovar-Syrmia County, Croatia*Privlaka, Zadar County, Croatia...
in Vinkovci
Vinkovci
Vinkovci is a city in Croatia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County. In the 2011 census, the total population of the city was 35,375, making it the largest town of the county...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, the son of Žarko and Ana Filipović.
Filipović and his wife Klaudija have a son named Ivan. The couple had their second child, a son named Filip on November 22, 2010.
On his UFC profile, Filipović lists his father as his hero.
Film Career
Filipović starred in the 2005 action film Ultimate ForceUltimate Force (film)
Ultimate Force is a 2005 action film written and directed by Mark Burson, starring kickboxing/MMA superstar Mirko Filipović as a tough war veteran...
as Axon Rey
Mixed martial artsMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
- Black Belt MagazineBlack Belt MagazineBlack Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...
- 2003 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year
- PRIDE Fighting Championships
- 2006 PRIDE World Grand Prix Open-Weight ChampionPRIDE Final Conflict AbsolutePride Final Conflict Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on September 10, 2006.-Background:...
- 2006 PRIDE World Grand Prix Open-Weight Champion
- SherdogSherdogSherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...
- 2006 Knockout of the Year vs Wanderlei Silva
- Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUltimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- Submission of the NightBonus Awards-Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
(One timeBonus Awards-Background:UFC Bonus Awards are three different kinds of awards usually given to four fighters after a UFC event.Fight of the Night - Award given to the two fighters that fought each other and delivered the "most impressive" fight on the card....
)
- Submission of the Night
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year (2006)
KickboxingKickboxingKickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
- K-1K-1K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
- K-1 World Grand Prix 1999K-1 World Grand Prix 1999K-1 Grand Prix '99 Final Round was a martial arts event promoted by the K-1 organization. It was the seventh K-1 World Grand Prix final involving eight of the world's best fighters, with all bouts fought under K-1 Rules. The eight finalists had all qualified via elimination fights at the K-1 World...
Runner Up - K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Runner Up
- K-1 Braves '99 3rd Place
- K-1 World Grand Prix 1999
- International Kickboxing FederationInternational Kickboxing FederationThe International Kickboxing Federation is a kickboxing sanctioning body. The IKF World Headquarters in the USA oversees IKF World Operations with the rest of the IKF World Team.-Styles:...
- IKBFInternational Kickboxing FederationThe International Kickboxing Federation is a kickboxing sanctioning body. The IKF World Headquarters in the USA oversees IKF World Operations with the rest of the IKF World Team.-Styles:...
World Heavyweight Full Contact Champion
- IKBF
Mixed martial arts record
|-| Loss
|align=center| 27–10–2
| Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson (fighter)
Roy Nelson is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He last competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after winning Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. The September 30, 2009 broadcast of his fight against Kimbo Slice, officially an exhibition, was the 2nd...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 137
UFC 137
UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 29, 2011 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 1:30
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 27–9–2
| Brendan Schaub
Brendan Schaub
Brendan Peter Schaub is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional football player for the AFL's Utah Blaze and as a member of the Buffalo Bills practice squad. He was a finalist and the runner-up of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.-Biography:Schaub was...
| KO (punch)
| UFC 128
UFC 128
UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 3:44
| Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 27–8–2
| Frank Mir
Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate, who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion...
| KO (knee)
| UFC 119
UFC 119
UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 25, 2010, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The event was the first that the UFC hosted in Indiana.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 4:02
| Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 27–7–2
| Pat Barry
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| UFC 115
UFC 115
UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 4:30
| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 26–7–2
| Anthony Perosh
Anthony Perosh
Anthony Perosh is an Australian mixed martial artist competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competes in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions...
| TKO (doctor stoppage)
| UFC 110
UFC 110
UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday, 21 February 2010 in Sydney, Australia, at the Acer Arena. The event marked the UFC's first trip to Australia. The main card was scheduled for 2:00 pm Sunday in Sydney to cater...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 25–7–2
| Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos Almeida, also known as Junior Cigano , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC...
| Submission (punch)
| UFC 103
UFC 103
UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 19, 2009 in Dallas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcasted on pay-per-view.-Background :...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 2:00
| Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 25–6–2
|Mostapha Al-turk
Mostapha Al-turk
Mostapha al-Turk is a retired Lebanese-born English mixed martial artist and submission wrestler. He has trained with London Shootfighters for the past ten years. Turk was the ADCC European Champion in 2005 and was the British Cage Rage Heavyweight Champion, before relinquishing his title to sign...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 99
UFC 99
UFC 99: The Comeback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 13, 2009 in Cologne, Germany. It was the first UFC event held in Germany, as well as the first in mainland Europe .-Background:On Monday, June 1, the...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:06
| Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 24–6–2
| Choi Hong-man
Choi Hong-man
Choi Hong-man , often anglicised to Hong-man Choi, is a South Korean kickboxer, mixed martial artist and former ssireum wrestler. In Asia he is called "Che Man", "Korean Monster" and "Korean Colossus"...
| TKO (low kick)
| Dynamite!! 2008
Dynamite!! 2008
Dynamite!! 2008 was the annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts event held by K-1 & DREAM on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, December 31, 2008, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 6:32
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| NC
|align=center| 23–6–3
| Alistair Overeem
Alistair Overeem
Alistair Cees Overeem is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat...
| No Contest (Illegal Knee to the Groin)
| Dream 6
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 6:09
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 23–6–2
| Tatsuya Mizuno
Tatsuya Mizuno
is a Japanese light heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has fought at events of Dream, Pancrase and M-1 Global.-Biography and career:Mizuno started competing in judo in high school, and holds a 3rd dan black belt in the discipline...
| TKO (punches)
| Dream 1
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:56
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 22–6–2
| Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo , more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 75
UFC 75
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.The event was held September 8, 2007 at The O2 in London, England. The event was on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom, TV4 Sport in Sweden, PPV1 in Ireland, and offered on tape delay on...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 22–5–2
| Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga
Gabriel Gonzaga , is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a former member of Chute Boxe Academy and now fights out of Ludlow, Massachusetts as a part of Team Link...
| KO (head kick)
| UFC 70
UFC 70
UFC 70: Nations Collide was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The first UFC event in the UK was UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall on July 13, 2002. UFC 70 was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4:51
| Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 22–4–2
| Eddie Sanchez
Eddie Sanchez
Eduardo Arturo Sanchez is an American mixed martial arts fighter.-Ultimate Fighting Championship:On February 3, 2007 at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC 67, he lost to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović by technical knockout due to punches at 4:33 of the first round, in Filipović's debut fight in...
| TKO (punches)
| UFC 67
UFC 67
UFC 67: All or Nothing was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4:33
| Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 21–4–2
| Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
| Submission (punches)
| Pride Final Conflict Absolute
PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute
Pride Final Conflict Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on September 10, 2006.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7:32
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 20–4–2
| Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
| KO (head kick)
| Pride Final Conflict Absolute
PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute
Pride Final Conflict Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on September 10, 2006.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 5:22
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 19–4–2
| Hidehiko Yoshida
Hidehiko Yoshida
is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a long time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships, competing in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, also managing to fight in the semi-finals in the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix...
| TKO (leg kicks)
| Pride Critical Countdown Absolute
PRIDE Critical Countdown Absolute
Pride Critical Countdown Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on July 1, 2006.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 7:38
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 18–4–2
| Ikuhisa Minowa
Ikuhisa Minowa
is a Japanese mixed martial artist and pro wrestler currently competing in Dream as . He was a long time veteran of Pride Fighting Championships and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions such as K-1 HERO'S, Cage Rage, UFC, and DEEP. At 5'9" he is notable for taking...
| TKO (punches)
| Pride Total Elimination Absolute
PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute
Pride Total Elimination Absolute was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan on May 5, 2006.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:10
| Osaka, Osaka, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 17–4–2
| Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt ; is a New Zealand kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is known for his raw strength, iron chin and knockout power. He won the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final...
| Decision (split)
| Pride Shockwave 2005
PRIDE Shockwave 2005
Pride Shockwave 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on December 31, 2005. In Japan, the event was called "Otoko Matsuri 2005 – Itadaki"...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 17–3–2
| Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride 30
PRIDE 30
Pride 30: Starting Over was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships on October 23, 2005 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.- Henry "Sentoryu" Miller vs Zuluzinho:...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 16–3–2
| Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the Pride 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride Final Conflict 2005
PRIDE Final Conflict 2005
Pride Final Conflict 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. This event featured the much anticipated heavyweight title fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko Cro Cop and also the final round of the 2005 Middleweight Tournament...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 16–2–2
| Ibragim Magomedov
Ibragim Magomedov
Ibragim Magomedov is a Russian mixed martial artist, whose height is and weight is 112.7 kg .Born in Makhachkala, Dagestan on June 8, 1972, Magomedov made his MMA debut in 2000 at Samurai 2000 Tournament where he defeated the Japanese fighter Ryushi Yanagisawa.After being discovered by Satoru...
| KO (kick to the body)
| Pride Critical Countdown 2005
PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005
Pride Critical Countdown 2005 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on June 26th, 2005.-Background:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:53
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15–2–2
| Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
| KO (punches)
| Pride 29
PRIDE 29
Pride 29: Fists of Fire was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. The event took place on February 20, 2005 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.- Mario Sperry vs Hirotaka Yokoi:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:40
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–2–2
| Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| Pride Shockwave 2004
PRIDE Shockwave 2004
Pride Shockwave 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. The event took place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31st, 2004...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:41
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–2–2
| Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
| Submission (shoulder injury)
| Pride 28
PRIDE 28
Pride 28: High Octane was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on October 31, 2004.- Heath Herring vs. Hirotaka Yokoi:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:46
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–2–2
| Alexander Emelianenko
| KO (head kick and punches)
| Pride Final Conflict 2004
PRIDE Final Conflict 2004
Pride Final Conflict 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. This event held the final round of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:09
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–2–2
| Shungo Oyama
Shungo Oyama
Shungo Oyama is a Japanese mixed martial artist with a background in judo and sambo.-Early life:He was born in Nasu District in Tochigi Prefecuture, Japan on April 11, 1974 as Toshiyuki Oyama...
| TKO (punches)
| Pride Bushido 4
PRIDE Bushido 4
Pride Bushido 4 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan on July 19, 2004. The fight card was highlighted by three fights between the Brazilian Top Team and Team Japan.- Kyosuke Sasaki vs. Eiji...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:00
| Nagoya, Aichi
Nagoya, Aichi
is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan.Located on the Pacific coast in the Chūbu region on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Moji...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–2–2
| Hiromitsu Kanehara
Hiromitsu Kanehara
is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division.Although starting as a professional wrestler in 1991, Kanehara did not have much success as such, and eventually abandoned professional wrestling when his then-home circuit, Fighting Network RINGS, abandoned the...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride Bushido 3
PRIDE Bushido 3
Pride Bushido 3 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on May 23, 2004. The fight card was highlighted by three fights between Team Gracie and Team Japan....
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 9–2–2
| Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
| KO (punches)
| Pride Total Elimination 2004
PRIDE Total Elimination 2004
Pride Total Elimination 2004 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. This event consisted of the first round of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:57
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–1–2
| Yoshihisa Yamamoto
| TKO (punches)
| Pride Bushido 2
PRIDE Bushido 2
Pride Bushido 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on February 15, 2004.- Mu Bae Choi vs. Yusuke Imamura:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:12
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–1–2
| Ron Waterman
Ron Waterman
Ron Waterman , is an American mixed martial artist , professional wrestler and celebrity member of the Team Impact motivational group.He holds notable victories over Ricco Rodriguez and Kevin Randleman.-Career:...
| TKO (soccer kicks)
| Pride 27
PRIDE 27
PRIDE 27: Inferno was a mixed martial arts event held by the PRIDE Fighting Championships. The event took place at the Osaka Castle Hall on February 1st, 2004.- Dan Bobish vs. Igor Vovchanchyn:...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 4:37
| Osaka, Osaka, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 7–1–2
| Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
| Submission (armbar)
| Pride Final Conflict 2003
PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
Pride Final Conflict 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 9, 2003 and had over 67,450 people in the audience. This event was host to the semi-finals and finals of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 1:45
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–0–2
| Alberto Rodriguez
| KO (head kick)
| Pride Bushido 1
PRIDE Bushido 1
PRIDE Bushido 1 was a mixed martial arts event held by the PRIDE Fighting Championships. The card was billed as Team Japan Vs. Team Gracie, with five events represented by both a "coach" Hidehiko Yoshida fighter and a "coach" Royce Gracie fighter . It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:46
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–0–2
| Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....
| KO (head kick)
| Pride Total Elimination 2003
PRIDE Total Elimination 2003
PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 was a mixed martial arts event held by PRIDE Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on August 10, 2003. This event was host to the quarterfinals of the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix tournament...
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:29
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0–2
| Heath Herring
Heath Herring
Heath Herring is an inactive American Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist who attained popularity fighting for PRIDE FC in Japan and most recently fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
| TKO (kick to the body and punches)
| Pride 26
PRIDE 26
Pride 26: Bad to the Bone was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on June 8, 2003....
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 3:17
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0–2
| Kazuyuki Fujita
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....
| Decision (unanimous)
| Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002
Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002
Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002: K-1 vs. Inoki was a mixed martial arts and kickboxing event promoted by Antonio Inoki and K-1 on December 31, 2002 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan...
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0–2
| Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
| TKO (eye injury)
| Pride Shockwave
PRIDE Shockwave
PRIDE Shockwave was a mixed martial arts and kickboxing event co-promoted by the PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1 promotions on August 28, 2002. It was held at the Tokyo National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. This event holds the Pride FC attendance record with 91,107 spectators...
|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 5:00
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Draw
|align=center| 2–0–2
| Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
| Draw
| Pride 20
PRIDE 20
Pride 20: Armed and Ready was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on April 28, 2002.-Results:...
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 3:00
| Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0–1
| Yuji Nagata
Yuji Nagata
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He was known for his perennial tweener status, currently a solid fan favorite, and his stiff, shoot style wrestling technique....
| TKO (punches)
| Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001
Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001
Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001: K-1 vs. Inoki was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Antonio Inoki on December 31, 2001 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan....
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:21
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
|-
| Draw
|align=center| 1–0–1
| Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He is best known for helping to popularize shoot-style professional wrestling, as one of the biggest stars of the Universal Wrestling Federation and Union of Wrestling Force International in the '80s and '90s. He...
| Draw
| Pride 17
PRIDE 17
Pride 17: Championship Chaos was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on November 3, 2001. This event also saw the crowning of the first Pride FC Heavyweight and Middleweight champions.-Results: Renzo Gracie vs. ...
|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 3:00
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
| Kazuyuki Fujita
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....
| TKO (cut)
| K-1: Andy Hug Memorial
|
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:39
| Saitama, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
|
Kickboxing record
| kickboxing record | |
|---|---|
Legend: |
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See also
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of K-1 events
- List of male kickboxers
- List of male mixed martial artists
- List of Pride events
- List of UFC events
External links
- Filipović's official website
- Official UFC Profile
- Profile at K-1K-1K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...