UFC
UFC NEWS: Mirko Cro Cop looking towards February return, feels 2011 will be his year
Dec 27, 2010 - 11:25:40 AM UFC NEWS: Mirko Cro Cop looking towards February return, feels 2011 will be his year

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic had a roller coaster year in the UFC in 2010. A February win over late replacement Anthony Perosh helped get him back on track after a crushing loss to Junior Dos Santos in late 2009. Then, a seemingly rejuvenated Cro Cop defeated Pat Barry in Vancouver in June.

Cro Cop then stepped up on short notice to replace an injured Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Frank Mir at UFC 119. While the bout seemed to be an exciting heavyweight match-up on paper, the resulting fight was one of the most disappointing of the year, made more so for Cro Cop when he was knocked out by a knee to the jaw in the waning minutes of the fight.

Now, Cro Cop is looking ahead to 2011, and expects the year to be one of his best.

"Finally, I should be okay now,” Cro Cop said in a video interview on his official site. "I invested a lot in training and therapy and I think 2011 will be my year, better than 2006."

2006 was undoubtedly Cro Cop's most accomplished year. Fighting four times in Pride's Open Weight Grand Prix, Cro Cop finished Ikuhisa Minowa, Hidehiko Yoshida, Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett in succession to capture the Grand Prix title.

Cro Cop says he's ready to return to action in February of 2011, though he gave no hints on an opponent or exactly which event he'd fight on.

"I have two options for February," Cro Cop said. "Which one it will be I don't know, but for sure I will be fighting that month."

With the Super Bowl weekend card essentially set, if Cro Cop is to fight in February it's likely to be on the February 27 card in Sydney, Australia. It would be his second fight in Australia for the UFC, as the Perosh fight took place in Sydney in the UFC's debut event there this year.

Link to video interview

Penick's Analysis: Cro Cop looked awful in the Mir fight, but he was also battling injury and took the fight on short notice knowing that. I don't know what Cro Cop has left in the tank, but he'll get a chance to show everyone early in 2011. If he has another performance like the one he brought at UFC 119, the call to have him hang it up will once again come out strong. But he's proven himself to be resilient, and so there's no telling how much longer he'll continue to fight.