Cro Cop interested in rematches with Nogueira, Nelson, JDS and Overeem
- Written by Ivan Abramović
At 40 years old, MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop could be at the beginning of an incredible career resurgence following his comeback TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga in April. In the latest issue of Fighters Only, we speak exclusively with the Croatian veteran about his thoughts on the future.
"Beating Gabriel made me very happy. And as long as fighting in the UFC is making me happy, then I hope to continue."
He shrugs: "But there is no guarantee. This is MMA. Everybody's hungry. Everybody wants to take your head off . I will be ready. And even if I fail I will know I tried. My fans will say, 'That's a man who had a great career in Pride, a great career in K-1. He failed in UFC, but he tried.' That's the important thing. That's how I'm raising my kids.
"This is something I really want to do. It's something I owe to the sport and I owe it to myself to beat some of those guys." But who are those guys? Does he want to rematch all of his former foes that are still active?
"Some of them, yes, some of them, no," he says. "With (Josh) Barnett I will not fight, definitely. We fought three times and I beat him two times. Technically it was three but the first time I cannot be incorrect and take it as a victory.
"He was hurt after 30 seconds. We fell down and he hurt his shoulder. I was declared as the winner but it wasn't victory. But let's say we fought two times and two times I beat him fair, and I like Josh Barnett a lot... There's no point to fight him.
"But Nogueira is definitely there, Roy Nelson is definitely there, and some other fighters. Junior dos Santos is definitely there. And perhaps Overeem too."
