Mirko Cro Cop's UFC 119 Performance Indicates He Should Retire

On Saturday night at UFC 119, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic took on Frank Mir in the main event.  It was admirable that he took the fight on somewhat short notice after Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira dropped out due to injury.  Despite the fact that Cro Cop has been pretty disappointing during his UFC career, the change had some fans stoked.  After all, hardcore MMA viewers remember the day when Cro Cop brought that awesome sense of forthcoming danger.  As soon as he walked into the PRIDE ring, you knew something bad was going to happen, and it was usually going to happen to the other guy.

But his snoozer of a performance last night at UFC 119 screams one thing- Mirko Cro Cop should retire.  After all, a fighter is done when he’s unwilling to take chances.  That’s how you win fights.  And last night in Indianapolis, Cro Cop threw rare punches, almost never put together a combination, and generally looked as if he was trying to avoid getting taken down or hurt rather than win.

Now it’s true that a fighter should be able to determine on their own when to hang things up, and the legendary Filipovic is no different.  But just for grins, let’s bring another fighter into the conversation that makes this retirement point stronger.  Everyone who’s anyone has been calling for former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell to hang things up.  Like Cro Cop, Liddell used to be a highlight reel knockout waiting to happen.  Even worse than Cro Cop’s is The Iceman’s recent record of 1-5, with four losses coming by way of (T)KO.  That said, in Liddell’s last fight against Rich Franklin, the guy fought hard.  He tried to knock Ace out.  Heck, he even hurt Franklin.  There was no doubt he was in there to win.  And because of that, if Liddell ever did fight again, at least fans know that he would entertain them for as long as the bout went on.

In other words, the reason why many believe Liddell should retire is because he could get hurt (his chin seems more susceptible these days) and just isn’t what he used to be.  Both are valid reasons to hang things up.  But people are not saying Liddell should retire because he’s no longer a fighter trying to win in there.  That’s the most appropriate reason to stop competing.  Last night against Mir, Cro Cop simply didn’t fight.  He didn’t go out there and take the chances necessary to have a chance to win.  And that’s not entertaining, which is the whole point of MMA in the first place.

In the end, there is no denying what Cro Cop has meant to the sport.  He was one of the first true kickboxing crossovers, and possibly the best to ever make that transition.  Cro Cop will go down as one of the best strikers of all-time.  But his performance on Saturday night coupled with talk of retirement before this fight says something.

It says he should retire.  It will be interesting to see if he does.