Two of my favourite MMA heavyweights will go head-to-head in the main event at UFC 119 in what promises to be a real clash of styles. Frank Mir, one of the deadliest Jiu Jitsu fighters in the world, is a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion and one of the most articulate characters in the fight game. His opponent, quite simply, is a legend.
Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic is a former anti-terrorism commando from Croatia who took up kickboxing while not in active service. Famed for his leg-kick knockouts, his mantra, "Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery," is part of MMA folklore and his highlight reel of KO wins only goes to back up the mystique. While Mir is lethal on the ground, Cro-Cop is deadly on his feet.
Cro-Cop was also the reason that I got into MMA in the first place. I watched, stunned as a "little" Croatian guy proceeded to smash a man who appeared twice his size in a kickboxing contest. That man was Bob "The Beast" Sapp, who weighed in at around a hundred pounds heavier than Cro-Cop for that bout. Cro-Cop not only stopped Sapp, but left the huge man lying on the canvas, crying in pain, thanks to some huge kicks to the body, then a stiff punch to the eye that broke Sapp's orbital bone.
I've followed Cro-Cop ever since, through his Pride days and into the UFC. It's fair to say that the Croatian hasn't hit the same heights in the UFC as he did when he fought for PRIDE in Japan, but he remains my favourite MMA fighter and, following a performance against Pat Barry where he rolled back the years and unloaded with some of his trademark strikes, he's found himself in with a real chance to propel himself into title contention.
Cro-Cop has stepped in last-minute to replace the injured Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, whose brother Rogerio takes on Ryan "Darth" Bader in the co-main event. The short notice nature of the fight clearly gives Mir the edge, and Cro-Cop readily admits to being underprepared. But the former PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion is a warrior, and a hugely dangerous one at that, so if he can avoid Mir's world-class ground game, Mirko could spring a surprise and kick himself right into the UFC heavyweight title picture.
Whoever wins, it promises to be an intriguing contest, and one that is unlikely to last too long, so don't blink!