Cro Cop vs. Fedor II in the works

Underground
1

From MMAJunkie.com

MMAJunkie.com

Durng today's press conference to announce that Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has left the UFC to fight for the new DREAM organization, the company's executives announced that they had struck a deal with M-1 Global, which could mean a future bout between DREAM's Filipovic and M-1 Global's Fedor Emelianenko.

The news comes from Yahoo! Sports, a content-partner site of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

According to reporter Dave Meltzer, the two upstart organizations have signed a business deal -- a move that could open the door for the promotions to share talent. Melzter said that Emelianenko (as well as free agent UFC hall-of-famer Royce Gracie) both appeared in videotaped messages saying they planned to compete for DREAM.

DREAM was created by former Dream Stage Entertainment staff members (who operated PRIDE Fighting Championships before it was bought out by the UFC's owners last year) and FEG, the parent company of K-1 kickboxing and HERO'S MMA. DREAM will replace HERO's as the organization's MMA arm.

The Japanese-based organization appealed to the Croatian Filipovic.

"I never liked fighting in the cage," Filipovic said at today's press conference. "I always liked fighting in the ring. The second thing is that I like fighting in Japan... I don't want anyone to think that I'm running away from the UFC."

Emelianenko and Filipovic first met in a highly anticipated bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, where Emelianenko earned a hard-fought unanimous-decision victory. During the August 2005 bout, the two fighters were among the most popular and dominant anywhere in MMA.

After winning the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix, Filipovic (22-6-2) signed a six-fight, two-year deal with the UFC. The signing turned out to be a fairly significant flop. Although he defeated Eddie Sanchez in his debut, he then suffered a stunning first-round knockout to Gabriel Gonzaga and a lackluster unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo. His split with the UFC was amicable and neither side has ruled out his return to the organization, according to published reports.

Emelianenko (27-1), one of the world's top-ranked heavyweights, is the only fighter who's been confirmed as an M-1 Global signee. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion owns a 27-1 mark, though he's faced largely outmatched or sub-par competition over the past two years. A fight with Filipovic could change all that, though.

DREAM officials today stated that Filipovic could fight at its inaugural show on March 15 -- possibly for a new heavyweight title. However, if Emelianenko isn't booked as an opponent, they'll have future opportunities. The 2008 schedule released by DREAM includes:

2

(Waits for the haters to come on here and bitch even though Cro Cop is still a top 10 heayvweight.)

3

I'm CroCop's biggest fan on this site....and he's not top 10 currently...

4

cant wait to see this happen again.

this would be amazing to see.
also maybe on the card:
Jochim Hansen vs Gomi/Sakurai II
Diaz vs Aoki
Alex E vs Sergei K.

uhmmmmmm
yeah I dunno.

5

"I'm CroCop's biggest fan on this site....and he's not top 10 currently... "

Funny... Every ranking system has him in the top 10...

Sherdog's Heavyweight Top 10

http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings.asp?n_id=11182&my_page=2

MMAWeekly.com's Top 10

http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/topten.asp?articleid=16&zoneid=15

Insidefighting's Top 10

http://www.insidefighting.com/mma_rankings.aspx

MMANews.com's Top 10

http://www.mmanews.com/page.php?page=rankings

MMAranks' Top 10

http://www.mmaranks.com/hw

6

Id currently rather see Fedor fight Barnett, Couture, Sergei, Silva Jr. and Arlovski.

But if CC can win a couple then Ill change my mind. But at his point and him coming off of 2 losses it shouldnt happen

7

Do I need to give more sources?

8

I'd watch it.

9

Oh I agree with him having to win a fight or 2. I think that's actually the plan. But I think they're saying that the fight will probably take place.

But I agree, get him a couple wins before making the fight.

But nothing is pissing me off more than people calling Cro Cop a can. It shows exactly how much they don't know about MMA - At all.

10

this fight makes no sense. If somebody is going to face and possibly defeat fedor, it has to be a top contender not somebody he's already faced. Who comes up with these retarded fights

11

"this fight makes no sense. If somebody is going to face and possibly defeat fedor, it has to be a top contender not somebody he's already faced. Who comes up with these retarded fights "

People that are interested in making money. Cro Cop is a huge name in Japan, so is Fedor. The fight would be huge money.

12

...so he's blaming the cage for the reason he lost in the UFC?

13

"...so he's blaming the cage for the reason he lost in the UFC? "

Nah, in one of these posts floating around here, it said that he has no excuses but he is both metally and physically healed and would like to go back and fight in the UFC and avenge the losses after a couple fights in Japan.

14

Sounds good to me.

15

If they do this right, it'll be fine. We can all agree that Cro Cop should get a fight or 2 in and some wins before fighting Fedor. The thing is, the people that have only saw Cro Cop in the UFC don't know what the hell they are talking about. I find it extremely funny to see the words "Suck" and "Can" associated to his name when people were claiming that Gonzaga was going to beat Couture (He was the betting favorite) and that Cheik Kongo is a world beater, even though if you watch the fight again, Cro Cop was winning the 1st round. He was knee'd in the balls repeatedly and also broke a rib. So, Cheik won fair and square but you can't say that it was the same Mirko.

I for one can not wait to see Cro Cop fight again.

16

"He's WILLING to fight Couture. UFC just won't let it happen. "

DOn't waste your time typing this. People on here are sucking away at Dana's cock and don't seem to want to look at the entire situation, only the one that he presents to them.

17

Better than the opponents Fedor has faced for the last couple of years. Though just rematching guys you already beat isn't really all that exciting for your fans.

18

i would like to see the fight if mirko wins a couple, with one o those being over a decent figther (no minowa man please). i imagine this is a possibility for the late fall if the couture fight can't take shape.



mirko is no can. when people have made their names by beating you, you are no can.

19

LOL...fedor does smash 'cans'..he also smashes some pretty good HW's: Nog, Coleman,Hunt,cro cop.

20

So a roided up Cro Cop could KO the overrated Fedor. What a bonus for
Dana. That means that the guy who couldn't hang with the B level of the
UFC beat up the best the other orgs have to offer. M1 would instantly
disappear, the UFC would look amazing and the Pride fan boys would cry
their eyes out.