UFC Fight Night 64 results recap: Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro Cop fight review and analysis

To watch Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga 2 full fight video highlights right now click here.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop battled yesterday (April 11, 2015) at UFC Fight Night 64 inside the Krakow Arena in Krakow, Poland.

Gonzaga entered this bout on a bit of a slide, having lost to a pair of the better rising heavyweights in the division. It may have been eight years since the first bout, but Gonzaga was still motivated to prove himself the superior fighter.

While Cro Cop is aware that he's no longer contending for the title, his desire for victory has not dissipated in the least. Cro Cop has been hoping to avenge this loss for quite some time, and he was finally given the opportunity in Krakow.

For the first couple minutes of the fight, Cro Cop circled his opponent and looked to land jabs. Gonzaga rushed forward with punches a number of times, but Cro Cop avoided most of his strikes. Then, with around two minutes remaining, Gonzaga shot under an uppercut and scored a double leg.

Almost immediately, Gonzaga moved into mount. Before his opponent could really open up with ground strikes, Filipovic hip escape and attacked with a heel hook. Gonzaga looked to counter with his own footlock, and the ensuing scramble ended with Gonzaga in Cro Cop's guard, where the fight remained for the rest of the round.

Gonzaga clearly took the first round, but the Croatian did a good job avoiding damage along the way.

After a minute long feeling out process to start the second, Cro Cop fired off an impressively quick head kick. However, Gonzaga ducked under and shot for a takedown, though it was stuffed. Not long after, Gonzaga did succeed on his next takedown attempt.

Once again, Gonzaga moved his way into mount. He postured briefly to land some punches, but Cro Cop did a pretty decent job defending himself. Gonzaga ended the round in the S-mount, where he landed some cutting elbows.

Still, Cro Cop survived the mount once more, as the fight moved into the third round.

After stuffing a couple slow takedown attempts, the fight landed in the clinch. Cro Cop created a small opening and nailed Gonzaga with an album from inside the clinch. He landed another elbow, and it was clear that Gonzaga was stunned from the impact.

"Napao" then shot for a takedown but was unable to finish due to a combination of fatigue and his opponent's elbows. Cro Cop then reversed the position and wound up inside his opponent's guard. Choosing to maintain top position paid off, as a series of heavy elbow strikes ended the fight a few moments later.

The MMA and PRIDE legend had earned his revenge.

It wasn't pretty, but Cro Cop came in with a perfect game plan and executed it with veteran composure. While he got taken down a bit more than he would've liked inside the first two rounds, Cro Cop kept the damage to a minimum and stayed calm the entire time.

In the third round, it was more than obvious that Gonzaga was extremely tired. Cro Cop, meanwhile, was still quite fresh, and he capitalized on Gonzaga's sloppiness with absolutely nasty elbows. Once he hurt his opponent, Cro Cop didn't let up on the pressure and smashed his opponent.

Cro Cop has announced his intentions of getting back some disappointing losses, with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Roy Nelson as his other targets. One of those men should be his next opponent.

This was honestly a pretty standard Gonzaga performance. Early on, he was dangerous on his feet and dominant on the mat. Sometimes, that results in a quick finish. Other times, like in this bout, Gonzaga fails to finish and gasses very hard, leaving him incredibly vulnerable.

At this point, both his strengths and weaknesses are blatantly obvious.

Currently on a three fight skid, Gonzaga won't be cut, but there is the possibility that he may retire after this loss. If he does keep competing, a bout with a lower ranked heavyweight like Daniel Omielanczuk would make sense.

At UFC Fight Night 64, Mirko Cro Cop finally settled the score with Gabriel Gonzaga. Where will "Cro Cop" go from here?

For complete UFC Fight Night 64 "Gonzaga vs Cro Cop 2" results and play-by-play, click HERE.