Cro Cop Defends Noguiera Video

can someone give a summary? i cannot watch vids at work.

Thanks!

Jack K - can someone give a summary? i cannot watch vids at work.

Thanks!


Basically says it's not right of the Croatian media to be writing negatively of Nogueria with all he's overcome to end up becoming a champ in MMA.

Basically, he says he is pissed off at some reporters (Croatian) who were talking trash about Minotauro.

He says, "how dare you talk bad about someone who was run over by a car as a 9yr old kid, was told he would not survive, then was told he would not walk, and now is a world champion."

Basically.

Thanks...excellent.

Cool video.

He says in the video that Nog is 27. Nog and Cro Cop fought when Nog was 27, so there's no other way to know whether they had just fought or about to fight. Both could be reasons for his name to come up in an interview.

Regardless, I still say people are mistaken about his "arrogance". He is confident and always respectful.

When Cro Cop first came on the scene, he was one of my most disliked fighters. Through the years, I've come to respect him and he's one of my favorite fighters to watch

Nog-Cro Cop was the worst beatdown I have ever seen anyone come back from in MMA history (at least in a big fight).

I remember Dana was actually there sitting in the audience for that fight as well, and afterwards when he came back he was just raving about the fight (and both fighters) - saying stuff like how he just couldn't believe any human being could ever absorb that much punishment and still be able to survive, much less actually come back in the next round to pull out the win.

Dana also made one particular insight that distinctly struck me. He said that watching the fight on TV did not nearly do enough justice to the impact of Mirko's blows and the sounds they were making when they landed on Nog's body and dome, as well as the severity of the visual damage they were leaving.

He said the bone-crunching thuds were louder and sicker when heard live and didn't really carry over completely on the broadcast, nor could you see as vividly how completely battered Nog was.


That fight was really like two separate, completely different fights in one.

The first round was a thorough, brutalizing beatdown from Cro Cop which seemed hopelessly inevitable that Nog would eventually be finished. And the bell ringing to end the round almost seemed merciful in pausing the onslaught, but at the same time also merciless in just prolonging the punishment.

But then the second round began - and it was a whole different fight. Nog promptly took Cro Cop down (although Mirko made excuses afterwards, saying that Nog's corner had spilled water on the ring floor and that the referee had also gotten in the way to interfere with Cro Cop's evading of the TD) - and then just as promptly, Nog easily submitted Cro Cop for the most unbelievable comeback win I had ever seen.

That was just one of the greatest fights ever. Nog showed yet again how he has unparalleled durability, resilience, and never-say-die championship heart.

And at the same time, Cro Cop further cemented himself as a monster and the most destructive force in the HW division.

Bungle - whistleblower, you have excellent journalistic skills. Wonderfully expressed.


Yeah no shit! Very well written!

^^ thinking the same thing myself

Mirko is the man. When he was in Pride he was the most exciting HW bar none

I approve of WB's writing ability and views on this sport.

And if may add to his post, the Nog/Sapp fight was also in fact touted as a huge, epic at the time. A fight in which like Nog/CC and Nog/Sylvia, Nog took a beating and then came back to wear down and eventually submit Sapp.

Both WB and I agree that the fact that this fight was held in such high regard for Nog that it was then a bit unfair to those who tried to clown on Fedor so much for taking the fight with HMC.

That aside, though I agree that was one of the greatest, perhaps thee greatest comeback eva (Nog/CC), the one knock for arguement's sake against it is that CC was still somewhat a grappling novice - or did not have the same td and sub defense that he developed just a bit later down the road.

Had Nog fought the CC that Fedor did, Nog may have gotten him down but I dont think would have submitted him THAT EASILY. Nog is obviously better than Fedor at subs but i dont think CC would have been subbed that easily.

People (the same kind of post-Pride short/convinient memory folk) just dont remember how badass CC was back in that day. He did have his losses (Nog, Randleman, Fedor) but aside from the Randleman loss, 2 were to the #1 and #2 guys and as mentioned, his loss to Nog was not him at his peak yet.

Which leads me to nominate Crocop to one of the worst dives in stature in recent memory.

I do think the Kongo fight is a bit of an asterix since he got sacked so many times but he still seemed to not have the fire in that fight.

It woulda been interesting to see an reinvigorated CC rematch Gonzaga, Nog and also face Randy....and guess we wouldnt need to see him against Chuck.

Perhaps him vs. Anderson may have happened.

 Love to know what the press had said about Nog.

Have more respect than I did before, which was a lot, seems like a really great stand up guy

Well...actually...just watchin it again, didnt look like Nog took as bad a beating as i'd thought. He was only dropped really once and it was more a drop/flop, where he wasnt dropped immediately off the strike.

And....the armbar Nog got was hella dramatic but a very rookie novice mistake from CC imo.

Still...a historical match for sure.

 Big respect to Cro Cop for that interview.

Cro Cop's UFC debut entrance was the greatest ever.

I've always been a Mirko fan, but man, now even more so.

I cant understand a word he said. Talk english.. morans. USA! USA! USA!

Wasa-B - "That aside, though I agree that was one of the greatest, perhaps thee greatest comeback eva (Nog/CC), the one knock for arguement's sake against it is that CC was still somewhat a grappling novice"

Wasa-B does raise a valid point as usual. In fact, Cro Cop brought in Werdum shortly after the Nog fight to help him round out his game on the ground, and especially to shore up his sub defense.

(Actually, Cro Cop was the connection that helped get Werdum into Pride in the first place, along with Werdum's stellar BJJ resume and early MMA record of course. But before making his Pride debut, Werdum was actually better known for being Cro Cop's BJJ coach than as a fighter himself.)

Werdum would also later comment that Cro Cop had actually become pretty good on the ground - but Cro Cop still doesn't try to take the fight there, even when he might have more of an advantage there than even on the feet, depending on if the opponent is also a high-level striker like himself (like Hunt and Kongo).

But that loss to Nog did teach Cro Cop a valuable and necessary lesson - that he needed to at least address and learn the sub game to at least be able to defend against it.

(Because up until that same year, Cro Cop had also still been competing in K-1, at the same time as in his burgeoning MMA career, where he was continuing to shoot up the ranks.)

And while he eventually lost, that fight with Nog is still what definitively confirmed that Cro Cop actually did already belong up there with the Big 2 at the time (Fedor and Nog). And so by more than hanging with Nog in their fight, Cro Cop had effectively served notice that the Big 2 had indeed become the proverbial Big 3.