perhaps the title should be would...
time for CroCop to do an armbar from the guard?
it already happened... and he would have beat him if he had remembered that it was MMA...
I thought Cro should have got the nod.
my point is that CroCop has to show his versatility in MMA by beating a better striker than him (Hunt did better in K1 than CroCop for what it is worth).
For example, if a top HW MMAer fought LeBanner, they'd just submit him (in theory). Would CroCop lose a decision but then beat the rest of the HW MMAers? That's not true #1 material there...
Styles make fights.
they should rematch IMO
I agree completely. You want to call CroCop one of the best fighters in the world, but it's hard to do when he loses to Hunt.
Mirko could beat him if he fought smarter than he did in their last meeting.
I thnk this is the first really big fight where crocop didn't choke.
"Mirko could beat him if he fought smarter than he did in their last meeting."
I know Mirko has good takedown defense, but that doesn't necessarily mean great takedowns. TK could not bring down Hunt. I'm not convinced CroCop could.
"I know Mirko has good takedown defense, but that doesn't necessarily mean great takedowns. TK could not bring down Hunt. I'm not convinced CroCop could."
I agree that Mirko doesn't have great takedowns, however he is very physically strong and athletic so I think he could get Hunt down. He was able to put Barnett on his back and he thrwe Alexander down like a rag doll. He doesn't have to get him down with a textbook double or anything, just get him down. The problem is that he didn't even try to take him down the last time they fought.
Hunt is also a strong dude, so being strong/athletic may not be enough, you gotta have the takedown skills. Mirko has worked on his anti-takedown skills, but we don't know if he has drilled his single to the point where he'd get Hunt down.
Styles do make fights, but that is not acceptable if discussing the #1 fighter in the world. You can't have a hole against such an obvious pool of fighters (maybe a triangle theory of 3 guys beating each other).
CroCop has got to beat Hunt, LeBanner, etc. before he gets the Fedor "unbeatable" type air IMO...
"my point is that CroCop has to show his versatility in MMA by beating a better striker than him"
no grapplers have been able to stop the guy and they can't find any strikers better than him in MMA right now. Only Fedor has succeeded b/c he is so well-rounded.
Didn't they fight already at shockwave last year, I didn't get to see it, but hunt won a split decision? Was it a full mma fight?
Being good at take downs and being good at takedown defense are not the same thing. He would need to alter how he fights to beat hunt.
Mirko will win as long as he remembers that it is MMA and mixes up his game. Hunt is in no way harder to takedown than Barnett...
BTW: Didnt Mirko takedown Hunt in their first fight when he finally tried at the end of the fight?
It's still unreal to see Hunt took a full left high kick and shook it off like nothing, Mirko could still beat Hunt in a standup war though, that option is not totally impossible since they both great strikers, but score a takedown should be a much easier way.
Mirko can beat hunt in MMA, wasn't he sick as hell for the fight he lost to hunt? and bear in mind that Crocop has a K-1 victory over hunt aswell.
You'll probably see if he can at the pride US show