Cro Cop: UFC should limit ground fighting to help improve 'brutal' image of MMA

I think that's called ... kickboxing?

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Mirko Filipovic -- who not coincidentally is a decorated kickboxer -- is not a fan of the ground game, particularly when fighters are taken down and busted open, something that may need to be restricted to help clean up the "brutal" image of MMA.

"Cro Cop" elaborates to The Telegraph:

"I don't like ground and pound too much. I do it in a fight, of course, but it looks brutal. It's not a good image for the sport. Something should be changed in MMA, the rules should be changed a little bit. Fighting on the ground should be restricted because sometimes it looks really brutal. I think elbows should be forbidden because they cause a lot of blood. Many people don't want to see blood. They want to see skill, art. They want to see good kicking, punching, submissions, not blood."

I guess the Croat is unfamiliar with the JUST BLEED! guy.

Filipovic will rematch Gabriel Gonzaga this weekend at UFC Fight Night 64 on UFC Fight Pass, a rematch from their UFC 70 showdown in 2007 that saw the former PRIDE champion flattened with a head kick. One he claims he never saw coming after "Napao" blurred his vision with some elbow-y ground and pound.

You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.