Biography(references)Filipović was born on 10 September 1974 in Vinkovci in eastern Croatia, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic Yugoslavia. After seeing Jean-Claude Van Damme's performance in the film Bloodsport, he began training in his parents' garage with his father's boxing equipment and weights. His father, who worked as an electrician for a railway company, fashioned his son a crude but effective punching bag filled with sand and cotton, and would bring home track scraps for Mirko to use for weight training. Filipović began formal training in taekwondo at the age of 7 and later studied karate. The colonel told Filipović: I don't think you will be a special soldier, but I believe you will be a good fighter one day.
Combat ApproachA pure sprawl and brawl fighter, Cro Cop focused his game on his kickboxing acumen and skill to avoid being taken to the ground. Despite the relative predictability of his technique, Cro Cop was able to hit it consistently by speed and timing, gaining 28 KO/TKO wins in his career, of which four were by head kick alone. On the other hand, his defense featured a signature left sidestep used to avoid his adversary's lunges and a solid ability to sprawl, having stopped takedowns from Olympian caliber wrestlers such as Mark Coleman, Olympic judoka champions like Hidehiko Yoshida, wrestling champions like Kazuyuki Fujita or veteran wrestlers like Heath Herring and judoka and sambist Aleksander Emelianenko.
Fighter Trivia(references)Cro Cop starred in the 2005 action film Ultimate Force as Axon Rey. Cro Cop was elected to the Croatian Parliament, where he served one term from 23 December 2003 to 11 January 2008. He was elected on a list for Social Democratic Party of Croatia from I electoral district.
Awards & Accolades
K-1: K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 Final Champion
K-1: K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Runner-up
Inoki Genome Federation: One successful title defense
Inoki Genome Federation: Undefeated in 'IGF' competition (5–0)
Pride Fighting Championships: 2006 Pride World Open-Weight Grand Prix Champion
Pride Fighting Championships: Tied (Wanderlei Silva) for most finishes in Pride history (16)
Pride Fighting Championships: Most first round finishes in Pride history (15)
Pride Fighting Championships: Most wins through kicks in Pride history (8)
Pride Fighting Championships: Most head kicks knockouts in Pride history (4)
Pride Fighting Championships: Second most knockouts in Pride history (14)
Pride Fighting Championships: Tied (Igor Vovchanchyn and Kazushi Sakuraba) for second most wins in Pride history (18)
Pride Fighting Championships: Fourth most fights in Pride history (24)
Pride Fighting Championships: Only fighter consecutively defeated three former UFC Heavyweight Champions in Pride history (Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman)
UFC: Most finishes in Zuffa, LLC (UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce) history (21)
UFC: Most first round finishes in Zuffa, LLC (UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce) history (17)
UFC: Most wins through kicks in Zuffa, LLC (UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce) history (8)
UFC: Most head kicks knockouts in Zuffa, LLC (UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce) history (4)
UFC: Second most knockouts in Zuffa, LLC (UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce) history (18)
UFC: Second most knockdowns landed in Zuffa, LLC (UFC, Pride, WEC, Strikeforce) history (19)
UFC: Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
UFC: Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Pat Barry
MMAFighting: 2003 Fight of the Year vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on November 9
MMAFighting: 2005 Fight of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on August 28
MMAFighting: 2006 Knockout of the Year vs. Wanderlei Silva on September 10
MMAFighting: 2006 Heavyweight Fighter of the Year
Black Belt Magazine: 2003 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year
Fight Matrix: 2003 Knockout of the Year vs. Igor Vovchanchyn on 10 August
Fight Matrix: 2005 Fight of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on 28 August
Fight Matrix: 2005 Most Noteworthy Match of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on 28 August
Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2006 Most Outstanding Fighter
Sherdog: 2006 Knockout of the Year vs. Wanderlei Silva on September 10
Sherdog: Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame
Sports Illustrated: 2000's Fight of the Decade vs. Fedor Emelianenko on August 28
Yahoo! Sports: 2000's Fight of the Decade vs. Fedor Emelianenko on 28 August
Bleacher Report: 2000s Striker of the Decade
International Military Sports Council: 1998 CISM World Military Championships Silver Medalist
Czech Amateur Boxing Association: 1998 Usti Grand Prix Bronze Medalist
International Committee for the Mediterranean Games: 1997 Mediterranean Games Bronze Medalist
Hellenic Boxing Federation: 1997 Acropolis Cup Silver Medalist
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Fighter Videos
Full Fight | ミルコ・クロコップ vs. キング・モー / Mirko Cro Cop vs. King Mo - 12/29/2016
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