Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic rededicated himself to training after the vicious knockout loss he suffered at the expense of Gabriel Gonzaga's right foot during their heavyweight match at UFC 70: "Nations Collide" back in April.
He bought a cage to practice the various nuances, invited former UFC fighters and others to share their experiences, and stepped up his daily regimen -- all to prepare for Cheick Kongo at UFC 75: "Champion vs. Champion" on September 8.
His only day of rest? Sunday, according to a recent training schedule that was possibly leaked by a Polish Web site and has been translated by FightNetwork.com.
Here's a day in the life of the feared Croatian striker:
Monday
Morning: 4-5 km run, stretching
Afternoon: Warm-up, sparring or bag/mitt work, grapplingTuesday
Morning: Weights and low intensity Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Afternoon: Warm-up, sparring or bag/mitt work, grapplingWednesday
Morning: Low intensity runs, sometimes basketballThursday:
Morning: 4-5 km run, stretching
Afternoon: Warm-up, sparring or bag/mitt work, grapplingFriday
Morning: weights, low intensity Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Afternoon: Warm-up, sparring or bag/mitt work, grapplingSaturday
Morning: Running or low intensity workout with weightsSunday:
Rest
There's more:
- On sparring days, Cro Cop will combine both stand-up and ground elements for at least 1 round
- Warm-ups generally take about 30 minutes and consist of strength exercises, shadow boxing, as well as standing wrestling and takedown defense drills
- Most days, Cro Cop will run at about 60 percent intensity
- Weight training sessions are 40 minutes without any breaks, 8-15 reps in a set
Look out Kongo ... seems like Filipovic is out for some serious redemption.
Note: The daily regimen mentioned above seems to be outdated, which we learned after posting this report. Thanks to UFCmania reader "YouTapped" for pointing out the orginal source in the comments section below. Regardless, Cro Cop has enlisted the services of quite a few high-profile superstars to prepare him for this match, as well as purchased the cage. Based on that alone it wouldn't be all too surprising if he took the schedule above to a whole new level.