Mustapha Al-Turk plans to bring home Mirko Cro Cop's scalp after UFC 99 fight

by MMAmania.com on May 21, 2009 8:05 PM EDT

Quoteworthy:

"I suppose nowadays in the fight game there are no easy fights. I'm stepping up as usual and hoping to take a big scalp come June 13th. I feel good. I feel like I've got the tools and the know-how and the skill to deal with him and beat him.... You know, I've got a good stand-up game -- probably not as good as his -- and I've got a good ground game. I'm a good wrestler. My jiu-jitsu's good. I've got a good chance and I believe in myself, that's the most important thing.... It's only three and a half weeks away. It is quite short notice, but hey, you know, I'm stepping up and I'm going to take it to him. We've had to change all the training. It is quite short notice, and it is a steep learning curve to change my game. I've been working eleven weeks to deal with Todd Duffee, but that's changed now and true intelligence is adaptation to environment, so if I can adapt to my environment I can demonstrate true intelligence."

Mustapha Al-Turk — who was originally slated to face undefeated American Top Team (ATT) heavyweight Todd Duffee at UFC 99: "The Comeback" at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, on June 13 -- talks about his preparation (and chances) against his new foe, Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix winner Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. The former British Cage Rage heavyweight champion came up short in his Octagon debut against Cheick Kongo, losing via brutal technical knockout. Cro Cop didn't have much luck against the Parisian, either, dropping a unanimous decision back in 2007, which forced his exit from the promotion. Does Al-Turk really have the tools to topple the Croatian and send him packing once again or will Cro Cop have the last laugh courtesy of his trademark Mohican head kick?

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Comments

LOL, Can-King. You don’t have the tools to beat up the teenage clerk at Blockbuster Video.

If this guy does somehow beat Cro-Cop, we know Mirko is D-O-N-E.

by Jeremyjackson on May 21, 2009 9:24 PM EDT reply actions

A-Turk’s cardio won’t even get him across the octagon. What a joke.

by DSmith on May 21, 2009 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Whats with the hate on Al-Turk. Guy got face-raped by Kongo, and thats all I’ve seen of him. Just wondering if there was something I missed.

LHK FTW. Gettim Cro Cop

by Synyster on May 21, 2009 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions

That performance was enough. He had horrible cardio and stand up. He looked completely over matched and it will be that way for just about every match up in the division imo. Unless it was that “first time in the UFC” nerves thing I can’t see him beating anyone at the top or middle of the division and he’s not even good enough to be a proper gatekeeper.

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Get back to cage rage, more your level Turk.

by attakdog on May 22, 2009 4:14 AM EDT up reply actions

get it right JJ! THe accepted vernacular is “KING of the Cans”!!!! lol

If Cro cop loses to this guy, then cro cop has to be DONE!!!!

This guys has been training for Todd Duffee, that should not equate into being able to deal with Cro cop.

Cro Cop has 2 options: Kick his head off or retire!

by john on May 22, 2009 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions

LOL!Damn JJ!Your on fire today!

by Alpha Male 360 on May 21, 2009 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions

WAR AL-TURK!! King of Cans!!

by Syd[a.k.a."The Negation"] on May 21, 2009 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Being that he is a former Abu Dhabi champ I’ll give him a little more respect than that, but he still can’t hang.

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions

damn right boys! happy to hear that the king of the Cans nickname I gave him is sticking,! Is there really a better way to describe him? lol

by john on May 22, 2009 9:24 AM EDT up reply actions

if cro cop loses this i will never post on this forum again. this is such a gimme fight its not even funny

by Clinton Jackson (formerly Jared) on May 21, 2009 9:25 PM EDT reply actions

Loved the comment “I’ve got a good stand-up game — probably not as good as his”. No, you dont say!!! Cro Cop has to win this, talk about a can!

by attakdog on May 22, 2009 4:18 AM EDT up reply actions

i wouldn’t be surprised if cro cop goes down, how long has it been since his surgery? he’ll only train for 4-5 weeks?? it will be a boring decision for cro cop at best…only hope i’m wrong

by Mascarita on May 21, 2009 9:27 PM EDT reply actions

only good about Al-Turk is his music taste, him coming out to The Game – Dope Boyz was dope!

by RoB on May 21, 2009 9:36 PM EDT reply actions

Warning…..listening to rap music turns you into a f*cking retard.

by mike22 on May 21, 2009 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions

hehe, how is that? I listen to it every day, and was at a Game concert a few months ago..

by RoB on May 21, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions

When I used to have UFC parties at my house the casual fans in the room used to pick the winners of the fights based on how good their entrance music was. Rap music fared well, you’d be surprised how accurate that method was.

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Pretty scientific system.

by Jeremyjackson on May 22, 2009 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Are you talking of Suga entrance on Method Man against Chucky DSmith?

by Alpha Male 360 on May 22, 2009 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Lol! It worked for them. At least they were asleep (and please don’t remind of us your raping sleeping women fetish!).

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

That and you have to admit that dance/rave shit that Shogun and Wandy walk into doesn’t have the best record in the UFC. And though country music does ok- when up against Canadian French hip-hip- not so much (please refer to Hughes and Fitch v GSP)!

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Hahaha!DSmith the music that GSP had was walking on Sans Pression a french Canadian band that is actually,kind of OK!But your right that french hip hop s..k real bad!!

by Alpha Male 360 on May 22, 2009 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions

This is why it sucks to not have many friends who are into mma and why I haven’t had anybody over for a fight in almost a year. This is shit that is getting talked about and debated. Can you imagine what would happen for GSP/Alves? French hip-hip vs American or Brazilian Portuguese hip-hip? Brains would explode.

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions

OK gang, I’m outta here for a few days. Going to the Island for a little R&R in the morning, so everyone enjoy the fights and I’ll try to check in Saturday night to gloat!

WAR Karate Dragon!!!

by Jeremyjackson on May 22, 2009 1:36 AM EDT up reply actions

Damn sorry for that post i was saying that GSP did walk on songs produced by the group"Sans Pression"!

by Alpha Male 360 on May 22, 2009 1:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Peace!!!Have fun!

by Alpha Male 360 on May 22, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions

french rap is actually good, Badr Hari coming out to despo rutti – arretez has got to be the best entrance in the fight world.. partying while the UFC is not my thing, I got so crunked out last time that i fell alsleep right before the main event and it might happen this saturday too cause im going to a fiesta =)

by RoB on May 22, 2009 3:21 AM EDT up reply actions

while the UFC is on*

by RoB on May 22, 2009 3:23 AM EDT up reply actions

You can’t beat AC/DC for walk on music. They’ve got a near monopoly on rock entrances. You’re guaraneed to hear at least three per show.

by attakdog on May 22, 2009 5:13 AM EDT up reply actions

no way best entrance music would of been Thunder horse that tamden McCrory wanted at one of his last fights, cant remember if it was a ppv or a fN only dana said no!!

by CoNr on May 22, 2009 7:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Cause thats some straight up hill billy sh!t…

by O damn he got caught on May 22, 2009 9:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Rob – by party I mean have a few people over for the fight, pizza, alcohol etc. Not an actual party.

by DSmith on May 22, 2009 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions

I got that hehe, it’s just that we can’t hold ourselves back..

by RoB on May 22, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Hopefully this gets posted or Mania gets this interview up soon:

Check out this new interview with Mirko. It’s from mma-id.com

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9cl4m_mirkointervju_news

by RobH86 on May 21, 2009 9:49 PM EDT reply actions

Cheers Mania.

by RobH86 on May 21, 2009 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions

great interview! good to hear that he’s recovered well from all of his injuries..
Croatia is a beautiful country btw, I was there last summer and i just wanna go back..

by RoB on May 21, 2009 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks RobH86!Great find!
I didn’t know that Cro Cop had learn the game that way…
I’m glad to hear him says that he’s want to show what he’s capable of!
Why that i have that web page in Can/french??
Are you from Canada or Quebec RobH86???

by Alpha Male 360 on May 21, 2009 10:19 PM EDT reply actions

I had it in swedish..

by RoB on May 21, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions

OK thanks RoB!That answer my questions!

by Alpha Male 360 on May 21, 2009 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions

No I’m an anglophone. The page comes up in your own language I think. There’s a language option at the top of the page. I presume it loads up with whatever language you have set for dailymotion. A very handy feature.

by RobH86 on May 21, 2009 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Al Turk sounds scared, making excuses already. Did hen mention he had to change his training. Unless he catches him with something lucky then it’s back to cage rage

by eagzy on May 22, 2009 7:59 AM EDT reply actions

I will be very surprised if Al-Turk take this fight. It’s unfortunate for him that he gets Cro-Cop. Really unfortunate. True, Cro-Cop didn’t do well the last two times out. It makes sense that the UFC would not want to put him straight into the middle of the Heavyweight mix. Another big loss for Cro-Cop would (1) be a bust for the UFC, and (2) it would be a bust for Cro-Cop. Al-Turk is a theoretically good match based on past UFC performance. However, the reality seems very different.

by MMACrossfire on May 22, 2009 10:44 AM EDT reply actions

I meant “True, Cro-Cop didn’t do well the last two times out [in the UFC].”

by MMACrossfire on May 22, 2009 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions

LOL please, what gets me is that he claims he from England but he is actually for Turkey! Please say your from Turkey Im english and its making us look bad!

by cjgilly on May 22, 2009 10:56 AM EDT reply actions