I just want to know what happened to all the shit Mirko used to talk about how the money wasn't important, and that proving he was the best was all that mattered. I don't remember which Pride event, but I believe it was his first back after the loss to Randleman, but CroCop told Bas that all that mattered was the heavyweight title, and he didn't care about money. Seems to me that the Absolute championship is more impressive than a single weight division. Not to mention that his other supposed goal was to beat Fedor, and to win the tourney would give him another shot at that. Besides, I have a hard time believing that a professional athlete, who has competed in these tourneys before, who also maintains an elected political position in his native country, wouldn't have the foresight to examine the purse money situation before entering.
Just for the record, I have until now always been a big fan of CroCop, and would never want to take anything away from him as a fighter, I just find this all too strange.
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