In a week of retirements and semi firings from the UFC, it appears now, Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic has changed his mind about quitting MMA.
The former Pride champion spoke with Croation newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, and said he thinks he will honor his final two bouts remaining on his current UFC contract, “Often things can get on top of you but I cannot say that I don’t love this sport. It’s hard for me to decide now but I think that I will do these last two fights for UFC. This thing is stronger than me. Sometimes the mind says yes but the heart says no.”
After suffering a third round loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC 103, by way of verbal submission, it seemed the Croatian fighter was all but done with mixed martial arts. He was quoted after the fight as saying he didn’t have the hunger anymore, and his storied career was apparently coming to end. It was also reported by Nokaut.com that his training partners were to disband because they were no longer needed, and all accounts it looked like Filipovic was done after his third run in the UFC.
But after the interview with the Croatian newspaper it appears the once feared fighter is not ready after all, “Take for example, when a man spends 30 years in prison, you let him out; he robs a store and takes only a pack of cigarettes, just to be returned to prison because they can not live outside. This is my fear. The problem is that my way of life is saturated with this military discipline, which does not allow for such things as Christmas or New Year holidays. Training is never a problem – I think I missed five or six sessions in my entire life and never just because I couldn’t be bothered.”
With the majority of his life being a fighter, it comes as no surprise that Filipovic it not ready to quit yet. He has entertained the thought more than a few times, but has always found his way back to the ring. The way Mirko tells it, it will be his decision alone when he hangs it up, “I thank everyone for their support, for watching and following me, but I hate that I am expected to answer to people,” he said about retirement. “This is my decision. My blood, my sweat, my tears – as such I don’t owe anybody anything. The day I say I won’t do it anymore I’ll stick to my word. But I still haven’t said that and I haven’t decided that this is the end. I know I must rest well and decide.”