Ralek Gracie vs Mirko Cro Cop grappling match at DREAM 4
by MMAmania.com on May 26, 2008 8:46 PM EDT
31 comments
The Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix tournament winner, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, has agreed to compete against Ralek Gracie in a "special rules" two-round grappling match at DREAM 4 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on June 15, according to Nokaut.com.
Cro Cop was originally booked to take on Jerome LeBanner in a mixed martial arts bout that same evening; however, the fight has been postponed and will take place at a later date. The report did not indicate if it would take place at DREAM 5 (as previously reported) on July 5.
This news is a bit strange -- Gracie is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt and grandson of the legendary Helio Gracie. In fact, the 20-something prodigy actually the son of UFC co-founder, Rorion Gracie. He made his highly anticipated MMA debut back in 2007, defeating Katuyori Shibata via submission (armbar) at a HERO's event.
On the other hand, Cro Cop is a decorated striker who, unsurprisingly, prefers to strike. And if there's ever been a knock on him it's that his ground game is his weakest asset. He has one true submission win to his credit in 31 professional MMA bouts (he tapped out Kevin Randleman with a guillotine choke in 2004).
Here are Mirko's thoughts on the decision to challenge Gracie:
"... he would prefer a grappling match with a points system, as he would have an improved chance to win using throws and takedowns, he still is looking forward to testing his ground game against top competition and is looking forward to the match."
According to the report, "the fight will take place under modified Abu Dhabi rules: two five-minute rounds with no point system. The only way to win will be via submission. Should the fight go the distance, it will be declared an automatic draw."
Weird.
DREAM 4 will feature the quarterfinals of the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament, as well as the showdown between Shinya Aoki and Katsuhiko Nagata to determine the fourth and final man to advance to the lightweight grand prix semifinals.
(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader "Caleb" for the assist.)
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OMG haha this is funny, mirko is gonna get owned.
by Macho Bullshit on May 26, 2008 8:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It will give crocop and opportunity to work soley on his ground game.
So even if he does lose it might help round him out as a fighter, and he doesn’t have much to lose in this fight as far as standings or ‘face’ go.
by ShaiZ on May 26, 2008 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What a joke and a waste of time! This is just too funny. Mirko gets joked out in about 30 seconds…. I am a big supporter of DREAM, but I just dont get this one!
I refuse to ever talk about this sort-of-fight again!
by john on May 27, 2008 8:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This fight is BS…what is Mirko up to? Sort it out Cro-Cop
by ToeLock on May 27, 2008 9:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
LOL, LOLOLOLOL
WOW, OMG do we think a like!
That was the first thing that I thought of and put it at the end of the first “block”. And sure enough, the comment immediately below is exactly the same. LOL
by ViolentMike on May 27, 2008 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Uh, there’s good reason to believe that CroCop’s “one true” submission win over Randleman was a work. Just watch the fight, it’s kinda obvious.
by Soups on May 26, 2008 9:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I can’t see any chance in hell that Crocop can win this, but maybe he has been training his BJJ, and this is a great way to truly test himself. Plus, like Shaiz said, it is not a REAL fight, so it wouldn’t hurt his value in any way.
by naturalshadow on May 26, 2008 9:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think it’s a great idea. Hey, if he wants to grapple for some excellent experience (we’re talking competition here, not just rolling during training), I think it’s a great idea. Sure, it may be “weird” by Cro Cop standards, but it’s not the first time people have done this type of thing. I just watched an oldish clip on YouTube of Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz wrestling. Hughes held his own, but it was tough to overcome Tito’s larger size. I hope Cro Cop does well. The more grappling matches for him, the better.
by MMACrossfire on May 26, 2008 10:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I have seen that Tito/Hughes match, and I also agree. I think even if he loses it will be a good thing for him to work so hard on his ground game. He needs it.
by Toms Bombs on May 26, 2008 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Off topic:
but here’s a good article on Machida
Clicky
I don’t completely agree, but he definately needs to try harder to finish fights; he’s far to cautious.
His only real attempt to finish Tito was right before the bell, which was impressive but it was a safe take down, because if it goes badly he will be saved by the bell. In this case Tito was the one it saved. It’s point scoring and rank protecting;
It makes you win, but it’s not going to make you popular, Ask Tim Sylvia.
by ShaiZ on May 26, 2008 10:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i would consider this match to be a “rubbish-match.” haha. they’re both garbage!!! moving on….
by boardRIDER on May 26, 2008 10:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
wow remind me not to take anything you say seriously ever again boardRIDER, what a waste of a comment… I agree that this is a good chance for Cro Cop to shore up his grappling with some true competition, not just in the gym
by brendan on May 26, 2008 11:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Waste Of Time. I Want Crocop vs Lebanor
by Sour Diesel on May 26, 2008 11:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yea, I can see how hyped up you are for that one, you surely mean LeBanner? …
by YouTapped on May 27, 2008 4:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
YT. dont make fun. he has a french accent. le-ban-nor no? oui!
by b.w. on May 27, 2008 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
As long as he is still fighting for real in DREAM 6, I’m happy. I get to see him twice. If he’s no fighting for real, I’M PISSED!!!
by Chris W on May 26, 2008 11:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Is this what Mirko has come too? Fighting a guy with 1 win at middle weight.
by JV on May 27, 2008 3:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, the way I understood it was that he was gonna have the grappling match AND the LeBanner fight afterwards, at DREAM 5 or 6, so either way I am cool with it.
Actually I would like it if more fighters would have “showcase” fights. DREAM probably needs more time to arrange crosspromotional fights for CroCop after LeBanner, so why not fill the time with interesting matchups.
Other matchups I’d like (for showcase purpose only, not belts):
Anderson Silva – Buakaw Pramuk (Muay Thai fight/rules)
Chuck Liddell – Remy Bonjasky (Kickboxing fight/rules)
BigNog – Werdum (Grappling under Abu Dhabi rules)
It’s better than waiting 6 months for such fighters to fight again. The time in between fights has increased (especially in the UFC due to its large roster) to unbeatable 5-6 months.
Time between Anderson Silva fights: 5 months
Time between GSP fights: 5 months
Time between Wanderlei Silva: 5 months
Time between Rampage fights: 9 months!!! (thanks TUF7)
If the decision is between a card like UFC87 and a few more-or-less showcase fights, I take the later any time!
by YouTapped on May 27, 2008 4:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The Mirko Vs LeBanner fight was set for DREAM 4 right? Which one of them got injured for it to be rearanged to DREAM 5, was it mirko coz if so wtf is he doing in a grappling match?
by Macho Bullshit on May 27, 2008 7:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
This is what Mirko had to say:
First of all, thank you everyone for being so patient when waiting for news regarding my next fight. Although I really wanted to face Jerome LeBanner on June 15, this fight is unfortunately postponed. I’ve been training for a MMA bout for almost 2 month and I’m going to fight on June 15, but not under MMA rules!
DREAM offered me a unique challenge, to face Ralek Gracie in a grappling match.
Since there was no opportunity for me to fight under MMA rules in June, I accepted this challenge and I’m going to face Ralek under modified Abu Dhabi rules. The fight is set for two 5-minute rounds, there are no points, so the only way to win this fight is by submission. If we make the distance the fight will be automatically declared a draw.
This is probably something you didn’t see coming, it came really out of blue.
However, in a given circumstances, this is a unique opportunity for me to test my ground game against top level competition and it’s going to be exciting.
I’ll prepare for this match with my grappling coach Marcio Corletta, a two times world champion.
by YouTapped on May 27, 2008 8:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I was looking forward to Le Banner match. It would have been an awesome fight. I was watching K1 event from last year and the commentator said that Le Banner has the highest knockout ratio in K1 history. It would be a hard fight to call.
by Ade on May 27, 2008 9:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Uhm, just to clarify this one more time:
Fight scheduled:
CroCop-LeBanner at DREAM 5
Now scheduled:
CroCop-Gracie at DREAM 4
+ most likely:
CroCop-LeBanner at DREAM 6
by YouTapped on May 27, 2008 10:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
he’s doing it to get paid. big deal, he should be able to make money any way he sees fit. as far as improving his ground game, one would think he could do that in practice w/ werdum. and i dont see submissions as being cro-cops problem as of late.
by b.w. on May 27, 2008 10:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
This is the kind of crap that Pride would do from time to time.
I look forward to seeing what the betting odds are.
by RipTheSystem on May 27, 2008 12:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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