Crocop has ALWAYS been an undersized HW. As a younger, faster, more aggressive fighter he was able to overcome the size difference, most times. Those days are long gone. In this era of huge HWs that he currently attempts to survive in, he is at a HUGE, pun intended, disadvantage. If Mirko wants to continue fighting, and I hope he does, he NEEDS to drop to LHW, immediately. His days of hanging with those overgrown behemoths are OVER!
There are too many reasons for him to drop, and few, if any, for him to stay at HW.
•At 205, he immediately becomes the bigger fighter in most fights, not the smaller one.
•At 205, he should experience an increase in speed, which used to be one of his best attributes.
•At 205, he'd be hard pressed to find an opponent as strong or stronger than he is.
•At 205, he will have much more suitable match-ups to his style; less huge, overpowering wrestlers, more similar sized strikers who will bring out the best in him and provide the most exciting fights.
Let's face it, Mirko is primarily a sprawl & brawl style of fighter. His takedown defense is some of the best in the game. We all know what his left leg is capable of. Other than his propensity for telegraphing it a bit too much, his left hand can also do serious damage. These attributes will only be that much better at 205. With less weight to move around the cage (both his own and his opponent's), he will be more confident in his weapons and really let them fly again. Its as if his best techniques have been locked in a cage (again, pun intended) in some of his recent fights.
How many kicks overall did he throw in the fight with Mir? Six?Specifically, how many low kicks did he throw in that fight? None?!?While he was able to fend off Mir's takedown attempts, it was obviously very physically taxing for him to do so. The primary reason for that is the size difference. All that body-to-body clinch work against the cage sapped the energy he needed to utilize his other weapons. There was nothing left on his punches and he barely threw any kicks. His last win against Pat Barry was a precursor to what his fights at LHW will look like. Barry is also an undersized HW who should consider a drop to LHW as well. That fight looked like two LHWs in the cage. The point is, Mirko was much more able to fight his true style because he wasn't using up all of his energy dealing with a much bigger opponent. Anyone who has ever fought or even just sparred with a bigger fighter knows what a difference that makes. Its not like Mirko is a jits wizard who can slickly and creatively work around being the considerably smaller fighter. He doesn't think that way and he doesn't fight that way. His mentality is to strike but he can't effectively do that when he's spilling all of his gas pushing humongous bodies around. Or more accurately, trying to stop humongous bodies from pushing him around.
Going forward, there aren't really any good match-ups left for Mirko at HW, nor any winnable fights except those against the no-name cans in the division. Although he has been lately, at this point in his career, Mirko Crocop should NOT be fighting cans. Joe Silva and Zuffa aren't showing him the proper respect he deserves. Why that is is a whole other debate. The guy is a living legend of the sport and deserves to be in high profile fights. On the contrary, at LHW, there is a plethora of amazing fights for him. Picture Mirko fighting Randy, Chuck, Tito, Ace, Thiago, Rampage, Lil' Nog, Bones, Machida, Shogun, Bader, Cane, etc. ALL of those fights have fireworks written all over them and he's capable of winning the majority of them. He might not, but he can definitely compete with all of those fighters. There are more than enough big fights for him at 205 to ride out the rest of his career.
Its a no-brainer, Mirko! This is a weight cut that should be very easy for you to make and a move that will lengthen your career. Take your 6 month medical suspension, alter your diet a little, spend some time on your cardio and show up on the scale for your next weigh-in at 206 pounds. You're allowed that extra pound and you deserve that. Trust me, you will make a lot of people very, very happy if you did this, including yourself!
Please, dude, make the move! We all want to see the Mirko Crocop that we've loved over all these years, fighting the way YOU want to, the way WE all want you to, and most importantly, the way you should! Its only around 20 pounds, that's a walk in the nicest Croatian park!
Do it, Mirko! Just do the damn thing already!
