Trigg and Cro Cop Seek UFC Redemption

A quick look at the UFC 103 card will tell you that there are no UFC belts on the line. However, there are at least four fights on the card that should have title implications. In fact, five of the fighters on the UFC 103 card have already fought for either UFC or Pride belts in the past, while three others are only one or two wins away from their first shot at UFC gold.

Of those five former title challengers, two were successful. Those two being the main event anchors, Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort.

The three other former title challengers include Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Vladmir Matyushenko, and Frank Trigg. All three of them go in to their next fights looking for validation and redemption.

Frank Trigg has had a lot of time to think about a return to the UFC. It’s been four years and fifty UFC events since he was last in the Octagon getting demolished by Georges St.Pierre.

The odds makers have made Trigg a decided underdog in his upcoming fight against Josh Koscheck. Trigg believes the reason behind this is because while Koscheck has had many recent high-profile wins, casual fans remember Trigg only for frequent replays of his losses to GSP and Matt Hughes.

Look online, and you’ll find the internet full of quotes like “Frank Trigg was once choked out by a turtleneck.” Trigg is desperate to change his legacy and show all of the new MMA fans that he is a lot better than he was against GSP and Hughes.

Similar storylines exist for Cro Cop and Matyushenko.

The name that should be most familiar to the casual UFC fan is likely that of Mirko Cro Cop. A few years ago, Cro Cop was welcomed to the UFC amid much hype and fanfare. Along with Fedor Emelianenko and “Minotauro” Nogueira, Cro Cop was considered to be one of the top three heavyweights from the Pride organization.

Despite his big reputation, things didn’t go well for Cro Cop inside the Octagon. In only his second UFC appearance, he tasted some of his own medicine, as he was knocked out by a Gabriel Gonzaga head-kick. That fight has become immortalized as one of the most brutal knockouts in UFC history.

One fight later, Cro Cop was bullied by Cheick Kongo in a lopsided decision.

Following these losses, the casual MMA audience began to believe that Cro Cop had been overrated, and wasn’t really an elite fighter. These criticisms have gotten back to Mirko, and fueled his determination to return to the UFC to prove himself. His recent fight against Al-Turk ended in controversy, as an unintentional eye-poke by Cro Cop led to the TKO finish. Needless to say, Mirko still feels that he has a lot left to prove.

Vladimir Matyushenko will be far less-recognizable to the casual fan. He’s coming off an unpublicized victory over Jason Lambert, and before that had won eight of his last nine fights, losing only to Minotauro’s brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. None of these victories were in the UFC.

In fact, the last time Matyushenko fought in the UFC was way back in 2003, at UFC 44. During his UFC career, Matyushenko beat former champ Pedro Rizzo, but lost to to Tito Ortiz and Andrei Arolovski.

Six years and sixty UFC events later, Matyushenko hopes to prove that he still has some fight left.

The stories of Trigg, Cro Cop, and Matyushenko remind me a lot of the situation of Minotauro Nogueira last month at UFC 102. These three fighters are all fighters who despite significant achievements are only lightly regarded by the majority of MMA fans who have only taken interest in the sport within the past four or five years.

Unlike Minotauro, each of these three fighters will be facing a younger opponent.

Josh Koscheck and Junior Dos Santos are both favored in their matchups against Trigg and Cro Cop, and both are legitimate contenders in their respective division.

Vladimir Matyushenko should have a good chance against the unknown Igor Pokrajac, but the prognosis isn’t as good for Trigg and Cro Cop.

Koscheck is a very similar fighter to Trigg, but is a better wrestler, and a better boxer as well. Koscheck’s weaknesses might be in his preparations and his strategies. Trigg should hope that Koscheck is underestimating him. If that happens and Koscheck goes for the knockout without respecting Trigg’s striking, Trigg might be able to get the knockout.

The same logic applies to the matchup between Cro Cop and Dos Santos. Their skill sets are very similar. Dos Santos should be hungry for this win, as it would bring him within perhaps one victory of a title shot.

Will we see fairytale comebacks for the forgotten veterans? Or will the younger fighters show that some stories don’t have happy endings?

By Darren Wong for FightMania.com

Tags: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko, Gabriel Gonzaga, Josh Koscheck, Junior Dos Santos, Matt Hughes, Mirko Cro Cop, Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz, UFC, Vitor Belfort