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[Matt Boone]

New interview. The last question, and moreso CroCop's answer is the most interesting part

JL:you fought silva 4 yrs ago under special rules which led the fight to the draw

MCC: when we fought in 2002, i was clueless about the ground game, but i think that landed more. i asked for special rules, because back then i was before and after that fight - k-1 figher, and it's hard to adjust to different styles. but all i asked was 5 x 3mins rounds, and draw if fight ends without stoppage.

JL: what was your impressions about silva?

MCC: silva is top fighter, but he behaves little strange, on pride tournamenst he's always looks indifferent and modest, turning his head away form other fighters, and then in the ring he acts like a madman

JL: who'll be in the GP final?

MCC: barnett could suprise minotauro, and i'll beat silva for sure

JL: since 2000, you haven't got 2 fights in one night, could this be a problem for you?

MCC: therefore it's important to end up the semifinal fight asap, ko victory would give me huge advantage

JL: before you fight against fedor, you had a problem with adjsuting at time-diffrerence between croatia and japan?

MCC: that's why i'm planning to go to japan on wednesday morning, which means that i'll be in tokyo in thursday morning, and time till my sunday fight i'll try to sleep in my regular "croatian rhythm", and after the fight - in monday morning - i'll coming back to zagreb

JL: are you missing summer vacations with you family somewhere on adriatic coast?

MCC: 10 years passed since i hadn't been there - so my answer is no. i'm not fan of being by the sea and just lying on the beach

JL: is the end of you career near?

MCC: when you among the best and not having troubles with the injuries - there is no point to think about ending the career. in mma "golden ages" lasts till the age of 35 , fighters are maturing late and thats why their careers last so long

JL: why you had to gave up of using shorty's song "doði u vinkovce" as your entrance song?

MCC: at the end of the GP, when i take this cup in my hands i'll ask them to play shorty's song, unfortunatelly japanese organizers insisted that i use duran duran's "wild boys" cause it's more recognizable for the fans

JL: have you got any problems with your condition in your last fights?

MCC: i heard this one a million times lately, everyone knows all about football, politics and mma. i explained a number of times that i'm not un-fit but i'm having problems with my breathing cause cartlidge in my nose is broken and this causing me problems, that's why i'm using every possible moment in the ring to breath thru my mouth. and for ordinary fans it seems that i'm breathless and out of shape. soon i'll go to solve this problem with a surgery. - i wanna breathe normally.


and probably the most interesting part:

JL: you've mentioned in many occasions that you'd love to fight in usa?

MCC: i'll fight there soon, maybe even this year in october, but not under pride or ufc, but under one other organization who just have started their business, their offer is excellent and i'll very likely accept it

[NinjaShogunRua]

so WFA or Strikeforce? It will be interesting to see what happens.

[Noob]

Originally Posted by NinjaShogunRua

so WFA or Strikeforce? It will be interesting to see what happens.

Agreed. That would be a lift for either organization to have Crocop fight for them. UFC can't like that though.

[Dsm634]

So who is Crocop fighting for in the US?

[Matt Boone]

Gotta be WFA. I don't see IFL throwing enough money at him, or fitting him into their concept. I don't see Strikeforce doing it because they go mostly after local talent. WFA seems to be throwing big money around, and getting the best fighters regardless of popularity. No disrespect meant, but Matt Lindland is their main event whereas UFC wouldn't even keep him around at a time when their 185 lb. division was pretty much him and no one else. WFA doesn't have many Heavyweights though, so the real question is who would they match him up with, or try to at least? He's already beat Waterman, Rodriguez is the only other one they got I think.

[the ruler]

i don't think strike force is only coining local talent since their last main event was vitor vs overeem , so i wouldn't rule them out

[Matt Boone]

I knew someone would say that. But also with Vitor/Overeem, they didn't need to spend 6 figures a PIECE to get them. They will for just CroCop by himself. He makes 6 figures now in PRIDE and he seemed to give the impression that his U.S. offer on the table is equal or greater than what he gets now.

[prophet665]

Everyone seems to really like Cro Cop, but I just saw the Pride event from 2005 where Fedor Emelianenko controlled the match. I then looked up Emelianenko's record, and this monster has only 1 loss and that was back in 2000. Why isn't anyone talking about him? Am I missing something here? Is he not fighting top opponents?

**EDITTED to correct grammar and make myself a little more clear**

[LethalStriker]

Most of the Strikeforce card is guys from the Northern California area, but they will bring in big name talents from elsewhere for the main events.

[Matt Boone]

Fedor is the best Heavyweight in the world and considered by most the best pound for pound fighter in the world. The one "loss" to TK was a cut stoppage from one elbow, complete fluke. He's technically undefeated, and he's beaten all of the top competition. Everyone talks about him.