Cro Cop's Last Stand This Saturday?

Saturday's UFC 99 fight between Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Mustafa Al-Turk will answer the question if Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filpovic's heart is still in fighting.  'Cro Cop' has been criticized in the past for lacking the drive and heart to overcome strong opposition in the cage/ring.

Mustafa Al-Turk is a strong kickboxer which suits Filipovic style since he enjoys knocking people out with his famous left high kick.  Filipovic comes from a K1 background and does well in striking duels and tends to have trouble with strong grapplers who are able to bring him to the ground. 

Keep in mind 'Cro Cop' is very hard to take down and his takedown defense mirrors a prime Chuck Liddell's. 

The physical attributes of Mirko have never been in question.  He is athletic, strong, and built like Adonis.  His physique is not for show like Phil Baroni's, his gas tank is always full and he's extremely powerful. 

With all that said it is his mind set which has been his Achille's heel.  In some fights he just seems to not be there, to not want to finish fights or take any kind of punishment.  When he gets into trouble as he did recently with Kongo and Gonzaga he seems to almost give up.

The key to Cro Cop's victory this Saturday is to stay in control and push the pace.  He must strike first and strike often.  Mirko does not fend well against strong opponents who are aggressive and overwhelm him early.  He must come in confident and stay confident throughout the fight. 

He has to impose his will and never let Al Turk gather any momentum.  Cro Cop's chin is suspect as he has been knocked out by strong wrestler but less than stellar striker Kevin Randleman at Pride Total Elimination 2004 and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blackbelt Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 in 2007. 

Besides a No Contest with Alistair Overeem at Dream 6 on Sept. 23, 2008, he has two TKO victories since his troubled stretch in the UFC where he went 1-2.  Those victories were against  Tatsuya Mizuno at Dream 1 on Mar. 15, 2008 and the Korean giant Hong Man Choi at K-1 Dynamite!! 2008  on the Dec. 31, 2008 annual New Year's Eve Show. 

This is encouraging since Filipovic's confidence is the x factor in his fights.  He's coming back to the UFC with the mindset that he has something to prove, which he does.  He is also coming back after the healing of nagging injuries and a new found desire to fight as apparent by his recent interviews. 

Even with all that on his side one has to ask their self if the Overeem fight was just an off night or is he still mentally fragile in the ring.  In his recent victories he was in full control and never in danger so this question has yet to be answered. 

He will have the technical edge over the younger, much less experienced Al-Turk and should at least on paper have no trouble executing his game plan and delivering another memorable left high kick in this fight. 

As with life in general there are no absolutes in fighting, as was seen with a near unfathomable Mir KO of indestructible Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

In summary, Cro Cop's worst enemy has always been himself.  When he is at the top of his game he is near unbeatable, except in the case of a prime Nogueira and the Terminator like Fedor. 

If Cro Cop's mind set is right he can run through the UFC's heavyweight division and replicate the best stretch of his career when on September 10, 2006, Filipović won the Open-Weight Grand Prix at Pride Final Conflict Absolute. 

Which Cro Cop shows up this Saturday will determine if his current UFC stint will be a disappointment and even lead to his dismissal back to Japan or if a rebirth is taking place which will lead to main even title fights. 

Al Turk has nothing to lose in a sense as many see him as an underdog his future in the UFC may be in jeopardy however if he loses.  If he wins then he will receive the push that Gonzaga received after his KO win.  Al Turk needs to come out swinging and not be timid like he was in his debut.  This match has the potential to be a show stealer.