Mirko “Cro Cop†Filipovic may have drawn the curtain on his mixed martial arts career, but he has yet to pull the plug on K-1 rules kickboxing.
“I told before this fight this was going to be my farewell fight,†said Cro Cop after losing to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 last October. “Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I wanted to say goodbye with a victory, but Roy was just better tonight.â€
He hasn’t fought under MMA rules since that night, but Cro Cop did return to the ring in March in Croatia, facing Ray Sefo in a K-1 rules kickboxing match. The fight was presumably going to be Cro Cop’s farewell from combat sports altogether, but he has apparently changed his mind.
K-1, newly regrouped under the company K-1 Global Holdings Limited, on Tuesday released a statement announcing its May 27 fight card for “K-1 Rising 2012†in Madrid, Spain. One name that immediately stands out is that of one Mirko “Cro Cop†Filipovic.
Cro Cop maintains a 17-7 record in kickboxing, but faces a formidable challenge in Loren Javier Jorge, who has a record of 68-9-4.
So Cro Cop may be done with MMA, but with the resurrected version of K-1, it appears the 37-year-old Croatian isn’t quite ready to hang up his gloves for good.
Not sure why he's doing any kind of combat sport really, should just stay retired.