As a fan of MMA (and not just the UFC) I've grown rather found of Mirko Filipovic, the K-1 Kickboxer who moved to mixed-martial-arts just as “striking” was beginning to find its sea legs in the sport.
In many ways, he is the embodiment of that movement. The Croat with the legendary left high kick that he would eventually coin the cemetery kick, started his career in K-1 with moderate success, amassing a 12-7 record, with marquee wins over Remy Bonjasky, and Peter Aerts.
He entered Mixed Martial Arts via K-1's Memorial event in honor of the late Andy Hug, in 2001. There he defeated 7-1 Japanese star Kazuyuki Fujita via doctor's stoppage 37 seconds into round 1.
Now it may not seem like much, but at the time, Fujita was considered one of the best wrestlers in the sport. He was the first man ever to defeat Mark Kerr, and made it to the finals of the Pride 2000 Grand Prix.
Because of this it was widely considered heading into the fight Fujita would take down the green kickboxer, and finish him with relative ease.
This had, and would continue to be, the trend with past K-1 products. Jan Nortje also made his debut on that card, and was quickly submitted by a far more skilled Gary Goodridge.
As the bell rang for round No. 1, the crowd was on its feet.
The highly educated Japanese fan base knew what would take place on that night, either Fujita would get the takedown early and reduce the Croatian to a pool of red in short order, or a spectacular knockout of one of the best heavyweights Japan had to offer would ensue, either way it would end quickly.
As the first few tense moments of the fight slipped by, Fujita shot for his first takedown winding up with a face full of rope. Perhaps nervous in his opening bout, Mirko would circle away and look to counter-punch.
As takedowns came fast and furious, he continued to showcase surprising takedown defense for a man so new to the sport. Fujita's tenacity, though, eventually would win out, as he managed to drag him down following a messy clinch spell.
In an instant, Fujita was in side control and already looking to pass to mount...but hang on a second...Fujita would be picked up to let the doctor look at him.
As he turns to look at the camera, the severity of the situation became clear. With copious amounts of red pouring from a nasty gash, the fight was unquestionably over by Japanese MMA standards.
As they showed replays, you finally see what caused it. As Fujita recklessly charged in head down, the former Croatian Special Forces member catches him with a magnificent catch knee just above the eyebrow.
With the victory, however controversial, he instantly gained credibility as an MMA fighter, and almost immediately signed to fight in the somewhat thin heavyweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships.
In his first bout, he would take on 2-5 wrestling star Nobuhiko Takada. Due to the special rules in place, Takada would fall to the floor. With no judges' decisions, Takada simply killed off the fight, earning a draw but alienating himself from the Japanese fans.
In an effort to keep Cro Cop's star from fading, K-1 matched him up with well known pro wrestler Yuji Nagata. Nagata had no MMA experience, and Mirko made short work of his overmatched opposition.
With his name established in Japan, at PRIDE 20 when Wanderlei Silva needed an opponent, Cro Cop would get the call.
A small heavyweight who routinely sits at 225 pounds for his fights. Japanese brass thought the matchup was just the ticket for their two young stars.
On April 28, 2002, The Yokohama Arena rumbled with anticipation, as the two provided the most electric staredown in MMA history.
As the bell rang the electricity never died down after a few tense moments, and a heated exchange, Wanderlei would be the first man in PRIDE to take him down.
After almost grabbing a body kick that landed flush, Silva would take advantage of the off-balance Croat. Grabbing a body lock, he immediately got the take down.
The crowd, possibly the loudest MMA audience ever, lost its mind.
However due to the special rules put in place during the bout, Mirko would again cheat a submission, by sweeping Wandi multiple times fighting his way to the ropes for stand ups, rather than the traditional center resets.
This rule modification was controversial and even the announcing team didn't approve of it. Even still, the match would end in an automatic draw despite many having scored the bout (including myself) 30-27 Silva.
Fittingly, he would return again at Pride Shockwave 2002 a mixed PRIDE and K-1 event, in a main event bout against Japanese hero Kazushi Sakuraba.
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