Cro Cop vs Gonzaga Video!!!!
- Thread starter Swervin415
- Start date
That wasn't the definition of a "punchers chance". He came out circled Cro Cop perfectly and waited for a kick, used the first kick Cro Cop threw to take him down, opened a cut on him with repeated elbows for about 3 minutes got stood up and kicked his head off his shoulders. That is whats called a beautiful gameplan not a punchers chance.
im still in shock. He messed his ankle up bad. Once again the year of upsets, great for those betting the underdogs.
C&P from Nokaut.com
Fortunal's Log: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop
by Slaven Vujic - Nokaut.com
First off, I don't want to say that I "knew" that this gonna happen. But there are some things that made me think that Gonzaga is a bad match-up for Mirko. I expected some problems because I knew quite a lot about this guy. But bottom line, I thought Mirko would win this one, not as easy as many fans expected.
Gonzaga was heavily underestimated, which was the first mistake. He's an ADCC champion, a guy known for his BJJ skills and strength. When you face the guy like that you just can't underestimate him. It's always easy to be clever when the fight is over, but I just can't imagine why Gonzaga was treated like some D-level fighter.
At fighter entrance's I noticed some important things. On Gonzaga's face there was no fear, he was "in". Mirko was a bit nervous, maybe he disliked the atmoshpere overall and going through the crowd towards the cage. When I saw Gonzaga's face I felt something was different with this guy. He was maybe a little nervous but it's quite acceptable when you face a fighter of Mirko's calibre.
From the first second of the fight Gonzaga started with this clever gameplan. He was moving to the left, placing his left leg on the out side of Mirko's right leg. It's also a usual tactics in profesional boxing when you fight a southpaw. Fedor used the same strategy with Mirko and we know what happened! In this scenario Mirko's primary weapons (middle and high kicks) are dead, as he can't go for a kick when he's forced to a constant movement. Gonzaga was pushing the pace, instead of searching for a takedown opportunity. But he found one when Mirko landed his only kick in the fight, he grabbed his leg and took him down.
Now the second big problem. Elbows. Gonzaga was clever again, he didn't want to take any risk by submission attempts. He used his punches and elbows, because he knew that Mirko might have a problem checking those elbow's blows. When you grab your opponent's hand's you can make his g'n'p ineffective, but the elbows are a different story. After at least 10 good elbows Gonzaga was on his way to win the fight. He also got Mirko against the cage, but the referee stopped the action and brought them back in stand-up.
With 28 seconds left in Round 1 Mirko was definitely looking for a chance to land a huge shot before the round ends. You could see him seting-up his highkick by a small feint, but Gonzaga's right hand didn't go down a bit. So Mirko probably decided not to push with a left highkick this time, but he got careless. How can you expect such a poweful highkick from a BJJ guy? When Gonzaga went for a kick Mirko was already prepared to check the middle kick, but he didn't realize that the highkick is coming. He had no chance, he was out.
Conclusion, why did Mirko lose?
He underestimated Gonzaga, got careless in the fight too. Gonzaga did a great job, his gamplean worked out perfectly. His only kick in the fight landed so hard. It was Gonzaga's night. Probably something that he deserved by a perfect approach to this fight, starting from the preparations, followed by a gameplan, and ending by a big KO. What else is there to say, he's a great fighter.
And what happens with Mirko?
Definitely a few months off. He'll be lucky if his right leg injury is not too serious, which I doubt judging by the slow motion. But Mirko also needs time to accept this loss and to look inside to find out if there's something left in him to give. I'm sure he can still do great, but that's something that he needs to find out for himself. For sure he won't end his career this way and he'll be back. Hopefully he can regain his self-confidence and continue his title pursuit.
Let's not forget that we are talking about one of the strongest fighters in the world, who dominated the Open Weight Grand Prix just a few months ago.
Crocop's story doesn't end here ...
C&P from Nokaut.com
Fortunal's Log: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop
by Slaven Vujic - Nokaut.com
First off, I don't want to say that I "knew" that this gonna happen. But there are some things that made me think that Gonzaga is a bad match-up for Mirko. I expected some problems because I knew quite a lot about this guy. But bottom line, I thought Mirko would win this one, not as easy as many fans expected.
Gonzaga was heavily underestimated, which was the first mistake. He's an ADCC champion, a guy known for his BJJ skills and strength. When you face the guy like that you just can't underestimate him. It's always easy to be clever when the fight is over, but I just can't imagine why Gonzaga was treated like some D-level fighter.
At fighter entrance's I noticed some important things. On Gonzaga's face there was no fear, he was "in". Mirko was a bit nervous, maybe he disliked the atmoshpere overall and going through the crowd towards the cage. When I saw Gonzaga's face I felt something was different with this guy. He was maybe a little nervous but it's quite acceptable when you face a fighter of Mirko's calibre.
From the first second of the fight Gonzaga started with this clever gameplan. He was moving to the left, placing his left leg on the out side of Mirko's right leg. It's also a usual tactics in profesional boxing when you fight a southpaw. Fedor used the same strategy with Mirko and we know what happened! In this scenario Mirko's primary weapons (middle and high kicks) are dead, as he can't go for a kick when he's forced to a constant movement. Gonzaga was pushing the pace, instead of searching for a takedown opportunity. But he found one when Mirko landed his only kick in the fight, he grabbed his leg and took him down.
Now the second big problem. Elbows. Gonzaga was clever again, he didn't want to take any risk by submission attempts. He used his punches and elbows, because he knew that Mirko might have a problem checking those elbow's blows. When you grab your opponent's hand's you can make his g'n'p ineffective, but the elbows are a different story. After at least 10 good elbows Gonzaga was on his way to win the fight. He also got Mirko against the cage, but the referee stopped the action and brought them back in stand-up.
With 28 seconds left in Round 1 Mirko was definitely looking for a chance to land a huge shot before the round ends. You could see him seting-up his highkick by a small feint, but Gonzaga's right hand didn't go down a bit. So Mirko probably decided not to push with a left highkick this time, but he got careless. How can you expect such a poweful highkick from a BJJ guy? When Gonzaga went for a kick Mirko was already prepared to check the middle kick, but he didn't realize that the highkick is coming. He had no chance, he was out.
Conclusion, why did Mirko lose?
He underestimated Gonzaga, got careless in the fight too. Gonzaga did a great job, his gamplean worked out perfectly. His only kick in the fight landed so hard. It was Gonzaga's night. Probably something that he deserved by a perfect approach to this fight, starting from the preparations, followed by a gameplan, and ending by a big KO. What else is there to say, he's a great fighter.
And what happens with Mirko?
Definitely a few months off. He'll be lucky if his right leg injury is not too serious, which I doubt judging by the slow motion. But Mirko also needs time to accept this loss and to look inside to find out if there's something left in him to give. I'm sure he can still do great, but that's something that he needs to find out for himself. For sure he won't end his career this way and he'll be back. Hopefully he can regain his self-confidence and continue his title pursuit.
Let's not forget that we are talking about one of the strongest fighters in the world, who dominated the Open Weight Grand Prix just a few months ago.
Crocop's story doesn't end here ...
