Roy “Big Country” Nelson talks about his round 3 TKO win over Mirko Cro Cop.

Brendan Schaub talks about his round 3 TKO win over Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 128. In overall he wasn’t too pleased with his own performance.

UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture called in to the MMA:30 Radio Hour and revealed that he is seriously considering retiring from the UFC, despite having 3 fights remaining on his contract. Randy also talked about Frank MIr vs. Mirko Cro Cop, Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II, and his son Ryan Couture’s career.

Frank Mir talks about his advantages against Mirko Cro Cop in their upcoming bout in UFC 119 on Saturday, September 25 in Indianapolis, IN.

Get your UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop tickets here!

Here’s the promo trailer for the UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop event which will be held on September 25, 2010 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.

Main card:

Frank Mir vs Mirko Cro Cop
Lil Nog vs Ryan Bader
Matt Serra vs Chris Lytle
Sean Shrek vs Evan Dunham
Melvin Guillard vs Jeremy Stephans

UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop Tickets

Common acts of sportsmanship in MMA are often seen as puzzling to new fans, who often come into the experience expecting the fighters to hate one another. Most of us long-time fans can remember a time when we found it very strange that two men who had just beaten the crap out of one another could easily embrace and exchange pleasantries afterward. These days, fans readily accept that fighters will touch gloves before the fight, before each round, after any foul, and even sometimes after a good exchange. This is aside from other common expressions of respect and even affection that are commonly seen nowadays. Suffice to say that the Barry-Cro Cop fight was not the first time we have seen fighters stop fighting in the middle of a round to “hug it out” real quick.

Still, this instance was different, because in this case, it seems as if being too nice actually cost one of the competitors his chance to win. Throughout the lead-up to the fight, Barry was more than happy to tell anyone and everyone how much he looked up to Cro Cop, and how he had been one of his favorite fighters since when he was not a fighter, but just a fan. Barry even shared his list of five fighters he would never want to face from back in the day. The list comically included a character from the “Street Fighter” series of video games- the Muay Thai kickboxer Sagat. It also included Cro Cop himself.

Anyone who interpreted this as a sign of true fear was set straight right away on Saturday night, as Barry didn’t take long at all to establish a punishing attack consisting mostly of snapping leg kicks and right hands, two of which floored Cro Cop in the first round. Barry was surely scared before the fight- he is one of few fighters who refreshingly admits that anxiety does get the better of him until the fight actually starts- but he fought hard and showed no signs of apprehension in the fight itself.

That is, except for when he had Cro Cop hurt. Both times that he hurt Cro Cop and put him on the mat with punches, he opted not to follow up on the damage that he had inflicted. Instead, he chose to let his hero up, so that the two could continue to fight as if this was a K-1 matchup, not a mixed martial arts fight. By the end of the first round, few were questioning Barry’s strategy. After all, the leg kicks seemed to be piling up rather nicely, Cro Cop’s left cheek had started to swell noticeably (prompting many armchair physicians to diagnose a “broken jaw” for Cro Cop then and there), and the former Pride star looked like he would be in for a beating.

Then, something changed. Cro Cop came out for the second round and started throwing his feared high kicks, along with the left straight that KO’ed about as many opponents as his cranium-crushing kicks did in the Pride days. Barry seemed…different. He started giving Cro Cop the time and space that the veteran needed to calmly set about establishing his offense, which has always consisted mostly of one or two shots at a time, along with a healthy portion of stalking. It also became clear in the second and third rounds that Cro Cop would not extend the same courtesy that Barry had given him when he allowed him to stand up repeatedly in the opening stanza. Cro Cop approached this not as a K-1 kickboxing bout, but an MMA fight, as he dominated the ground portions of the bout, right up to the final rear naked choke, where he didn’t even need to get his hooks in to finish Barry.

Now, since the fight there has been a lot of talk about Barry getting injured during the bout. It should be noted that Dana White announced that Barry broke his right hand and his right foot in the fight (pictures of his right foot, swollen to nearly twice its normal size, can be found online). Surely, these injuries affected Barry’s strategy as much, if not more than any amount of compassion he may have felt for his opponent.

What about the first round, though. Barry didn’t really take his foot off the gas until after the break between rounds one and two, but it was the first that gave Barry his most obvious chances to win the fight. Why didn’t he follow up when Cro Cop was down twice early on? Was he worried that Cro Cop was not as harmed as he looked, and that pouncing could backfire (like it did with Chuck Liddell in the main event)? Or did he somehow think that more knockdowns would surely come, so he didn’t need to finish the fight just yet? Hopefully, he wasn’t thinking that he would rather face his former hero in a fair-and-square kickboxing match than take advantage of a knockdown by pounding out his dazed and weakened foe. Clearly, Cro Cop came ready to fight, not to have fun. Barry must have the same outlook.

I’m not offended in any way by two fighters stopping to embrace or high-five in the midst of a battle. Far be it from me to tell professional fighters how to frame their minds for what they do. However, when the pleasantries carry over into the actual action of the fight, there is a problem. Dana White may have said it best when he said, “Mirko Cro Cop is not your friend.”

Not until after the fight, anyway.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

It’s being billed as a “Rocky” story, as the world’s top heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko takes on Brett Rogers, a man who has been changing tires at Sam’s Club until only a few months ago. This won’t be the first time that a promoter has tried to market the fight as with a “Rocky” storyline, but most of these fights have wound up just as expected. Can Rogers really beat Fedor?

Fedor Emelianenko really does deserve his title as the top heavyweight in the world. He’s earned it by defeating many of the best heavyweight fighters in the world over the past five years or so. Among the vanquished are Mark Coleman twice, Kevin Randleman, Rodrigo Nogueira twice, Mirko Cro Cop, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski.

His only loss was nine years ago, and that was due to a cut. He would go on to easily avenge that loss five years later. But enough about Fedor, let’s talk about the challenger.

Brett Rogers is 28 years old, but professional MMA career began only three years ago. Rogers hasn’t wasted any time though, compiling a 10-0 record over the last three years, with only two of those fights making it out of the first round.

Despite the undefeated record, Rogers is still considered to be an unproven commodity. Most of his wins have come against unheralded competition. He certainly put himself on the map when he knocked out former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski in 22 seconds. That’s a big win, but Arlovski isn’t exactly known for the strength of his chin. Had the fight lasted at least a few minutes, we might have gotten a better idea of what Rogers striking looks like against an elite fighter. As it stands, all we know is that he can hurt people if he catches them.

The jump up in competition for Rogers is dramatic to say the least. Rogers has been fighting outside of the spotlight for most of his career for small paydays. He had kept his day job until recently in order to pay the bills and support his family. If he beats Fedor this week, he won’t need to go back to his day job ever again.

Can he do it?

Rogers certainly has enough knockout power to hurt any fighter who decides to stand in front of him, but despite Fedor’s aggressive style and unorthodox striking, he’s statistically one of the least-hit fighters in MMA history. To put that into perspective, consider that he has been hit less frequently than Lyoto Machida, considered the most elusive fighter in the game. The statistics don’t reflect the fact that Fedor hasn’t always fought top competition, but are impressive nonetheless.

But while Rogers can knock Fedor out, it’s probably more likely for Fedor to be knocking out Rogers. An early knockout is simply Rogers’s only way to win this one. Every other aspect of the fight gives Fedor a big advantage.

Should Fedor decide to grapple with Rogers, he will be matching up his world-class Sambo skills against a guy who has very little background in wrestling. Rogers has done well keeping the fight standing against lesser fighters, but has never had to deal with someone with so much grappling skill.

If the fight goes to the ground, Rogers’s chances look bleak. Fedor is relentless with strikes from the top position, and is just as dangerous with submissions from the bottom. Nobody has seen Rogers ground game yet, but it simply can’t be that good.

In case you’ve forgotten, the film Rocky ended with the protagonist taking the heavyweight champion to a brutal and hard-fought decision. This result is simply not going to happen when Fedor faces Brett Rogers.

These fighters are both too aggressive and too powerful to let that happen. Rogers can beat Fedor, but only if he catches him with a big shot early for a knockout win. It wouldn’t be like Rocky. It would be more like Matt Serra.

So far, nobody has been able to do this, but it’s not entirely unprecedented. Fedor was rocked hard by Kazuyuki Fujita and Andrei Arlovski, but managed to turn those matches around in dramatic fashion. Nobody can keep on doing that forever.

A few weeks ago, the world saw that even Lyoto Machida can be hit, albeit not a lot. The aura of a fighter is simply the public perception that a fighter is unbeatable. Despite the insistent words and forum postings of thousands of feverish fans, no fighter is actually unbeatable.

Not even Fedor.

By Darren Wong for FightMania.com

UFC 103 was an attempt at a comeback for many former contenders. One contender, Vitor Belfort moved forward and looks to be in line for a shot at Anderson Silva’s UFC belt. Mirko Cro Cop, and Frank Trigg weren’t so fortunate. It seems certain that their title contention days are over. Right now though, the outcomes are overshadowed by what was a night of strange stoppages.

The main event fight between Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin seemed to be over almost before it began. The two fighters started tentatively, as they were both wary of the abilities of the other. When they finally engaged, Rich Franklin was stunned by a jab, and then knocked off balance by a straight right that clipped the back of his head.

Belfort landed some solid shots to render Franklin defenseless while Franklin tried to regain his footing. The fight was clearly over, and referee Yves Lavigne stepped in right on time. However, it was still a strange knockout, because there was no definitive shot that spelled the end to Franklin’s night. It was an awkward looking knockout, but that’s sometimes the way things work out.

Vitor Belfort’s return to the UFC makes him a fresh face, and probably be the most marketable contender for Anderson Silva’s middleweight title.

I just wish the fight lasted long enough to showcase all of Vitor’s abilities. He showed that he’s capable of blitzing and finishing his opponents quickly, but it will be interesting to see what happens to him if he isn’t able to end the fight early.

Vitor has struggled most when his opponents have been able to drag him into the later rounds. Until he gets there again opposite a formidable opponent, questions about Vitor will remain. However, his abilities to end things quickly will be enough to still provide some intrigue against Silva.

Things could definitely be worse, though, as Mirko Cro Cop can attest. He was thoroughly beaten in his fight opposite Junior Dos Santos, who will climb higher up the heavyweight rankings.

Cro Cop was rarely first to the punch against Dos Santos, and was overwhelmed in the third and final round. The end to this one was strange as well, as Dos Santos began celebrating shortly after breaking off from a clinch. Mirko had quit, as he couldn’t see after being hit in the eye.

The anti-climactic end to this one was unfortunate, but Dos Santos still had put on an impresive showing, and deserved the victory. He now owns victories over two former top five heavyweights in Mirko Cro Cop, and Fabricio Werdum. The future looks bright for this kid. He’s beaten a great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter in Werdum, and now a dangerous striker in Cro Cop. Ahead of him is a murderers’ row of wrestlers: Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, and Brock Lesnar.

Cro Cop was dejected following the loss, and stated that he no longer feels that he has the hunger to compete in MMA. Despite these comments, it’s still too early to announce Mirko’s retirement. After some time for reflection he may want another chance to end his fighting career with a victory.

Frank Trigg finds himself in a similar position after being defeated by Josh Koscheck. Trigg was unhappy about the stoppage, which he though was early. Initially, Joe Rogan thought that Trigg was completely unconscious, but upon replay, it appeared that Trigg was still trying to make his way back to his feet. He wasn’t close though, and was taking powerful shots from Koscheck.

Martin Kampmann protested the stoppage in his loss to Paul Daley, in a rare instance of a referee ending the fight while both fighters are standing.

This kind of stoppage is more familiar to boxing, as MMA fights tend to move to the ground when a fighter is in trouble on the feet. In this case, Kampmann was unable to do anything but stay on his feet.

This ending will still feel controversial for many MMA fans who are looking for consistent refereeing. Yet this ending is one of those unusual cases where a fighter continues to stand despite no longer being aware of the situation. If you watch the replay you’ll hear Joe Rogan state that Kampmann is out on his feet, and an instant later, you’ll see Yves Lavigne step in to stop the fight.

Clearly Rogan and Lavigne came to the same conclusion, while instant replays have done nothing but make the situation more ambiguous.

Despite these strange finishes, I think that in the end, the results will be remembered as being more important than the awkward way the fights all seemed to end. Sometimes one strange event seems to set the tone for the rest of the night. This was one of those cases. However, one thing that is consistent in MMA are results. Belfort, Daley, Dos Santos, and Koscheck all move forward in the rankings, while Franklin, Kampmann, Cro Cop, and Trigg all take a step back, and life goes on.

Dos Santos managed an impressive victory over Croatian fighter Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 103.

“He’s going to be a future champ for sure,” he told FanHouse. “Without a doubt. He’s strong, fast, athletic. He has good wrestling, good ground game. He’s a complete fighter.”

UFC president Dana White has also hailed Dos Santos for his performance in the fight with Cro Cop.

“Dos Santos is no joke,” he said. “That definitely put him on the heavyweight map right now. He’s in the mix.”

The fight between Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin should be an exciting one for the fans. Vitor Belfort is hoping to get off to a good start in the UFC, and a win over Franklin would be one of the biggest in his career. But the matchup tells more about the state of the UFC than it does about the state of any of the UFC’s divisions.

Picking out the relevance of this fight in regards to MMA rankings and UFC titles is a difficult task at best. Rich Franklin is considered to be a top 10 fighter both the 205 and 185lb weight classes, but it is unlikely that he will fight for a title any time soon.

Franklin’s losses to Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva were complete enough that nobody is seeking a rematch at this point. So instead of fighting for a title, Franklin has embraced a role in which he no longer contends for titles, but instead fights interesting fights against other big names of the sport.

Because of the nature of this role, Franklin’s successes actually seem to be greater. A loss for Franklin means very little, because he’s always losing to a great fighter, and no belt is on the line. A win further cements his legacy of being a guy who competes with the best in the world.

If Franklin loses to Vitor Belfort, his job will still be secure, and nothing will really change. If Franklin wins, he’ll be a few dollars richer, but he won’t really be any closer to a UFC title.

Belfort’s future title opportunities might be a little bit better.

Unlike Franklin, Befort’s UFC losses have been to former champions like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Tito Ortiz. The UFC can still market him as a credible challenger to the current title holders if he manages to get by Rich Franklin.

The problem in considering Belfort’s contendership status lies in weight class. The fight with Rich Franklin is being contested at a catchweight of 195 lbs, and the UFC seems unsure as Vitor’s final weight destination.

He could move up to 205, or down to 185, but either way, he’ll likely need another win to earn himself a shot at the belt.

If there is any particular relevance to the fight between Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort, it is concerning Belfort’s future in the UFC.

Most new UFC fans don’t know a whole lot about Belfort, which gives him the chance to make a new first impresssion. If he loses, his return in the UFC could be short-lived.

For that reason, the pressure to with the fight is really on Vitor Belfort.

As for the way the fight will actually go, the fight itself should be a lot more interesting than the implications and relevance.

Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin are both primarily strikers. But Vitor is known more for his hand speed, while Franklin is known more for being able to create angles and picking his shots.

Because of Vitor’s speed, Franklin should be looking to use his movement and conditioning to stay away from any brawling exchanges, and attempt to wear down Vitor.
Vitor needs to pressure Franklin, but needs to make sure that he does not tire himself out he can’t put Franklin away early.

Franklin and Belfort are both pretty difficult to finish, however, because they both posses significant striking power, knockout or TKO victory seems to be the most likely result in this fight. While Vitor stands the best chance early, Franklin is more likely to get the win if the fight lasts more than a round.

One of the great things about this fight, is that it shows the interesting direction that the UFC is taking in terms of promoting the sport of MMA.

The boxing world has become obsessed with fabricating relevance by handing out world titles. As a result, the sheer number of boxing titles has actually decreased the value of owning one. In contrast to that, MMA fights are now being promoted not on their relevance to the title picture, but instead on the merits of the fights themselves.

In boxing it seems like people are calling for a fighter to retire as soon as they lose the championship belt. In MMA, a fighter’s career can last far longer, because people are still interested in seeing the fights. One needs look no further back than UFC 102′s match between Couture and Nogueira to notice this.

UFC 103′s headlining match has the potential to be just as exciting as the main event of UFC 102. But if you’re still looking for title relevance, look at the fight between Mirko Cro Cop and Junior Dos Santos, as the winner there should only be a win away from a shot at Brock Lesnar.

By Darren Wong for FightMania.com