UFC
QUOTABLES: Mirko Cro Cop says he will "disappear and apologize" if he loses at UFC 137
Oct 21, 2011 - 4:20:18 PM QUOTABLES: Mirko Cro Cop says he will "disappear and apologize" if he loses at UFC 137

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I want to retire as the old Cro Cop. I don't know if I will be able to do it, but I will die trying. Nothing is hard for me. I will die trying...

Look at Fedor [Emelianenko]. Fedor was untouchable until one year ago, and today nobody's talking about him. He lost three times in a row. He was a great champion, great fighter, but he lost three times in a row and nobody talks about him. Only the fans who followed him his whole career respect what he did with his career, but that's the name of the game. I don't want it to happen to me...

[If I lose I will] say to people, 'I apologize, and I'm sorry I wast[ed] your time.' That's all I can say and that's exactly what I will say. I will disappear from the UFC and I will apologize, first to the headquarters of the UFC, because I was treated like a king, I was paid well, and unfortunately I didn't justify the treatment. I didn't justify the treatment. I don't want [to] live on an old glory. That's why, believe me, I trained really hard for this fight."

-Mirko Cro Cop talks to MMAFighting.com about what is motivating him ahead of his UFC 137 bout with Roy Nelson.

Penick's Analysis: Cro Cop, despite a longtime reputation as the stone cold Croatian, is actually quite an emotional fighter, and he's letting his feelings kind of come out in this interview. It's a very open and honest look at how he wants to go out after some setbacks in his MMA career, and this fight with Nelson is a bit of an "all-in" moment for him. The fight itself is an exciting matchup, and if Cro Cop can pick up a win over a very legitimate heavyweight opponent in Nelson he can make the decision to either leave on top or continue trying to regain some of his old self. His fans want to see that, but it's not something we've seen in his last several appearances. Will next weekend be any different? We won't know until the fight happens.