Former kickboxer and longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight, Mirko Filipovic, has been known to retire from combat sports every few years — only to come back again — though I have a feeling this one is going to stick.
Probably because “Cro Cop” suffered a stroke in the wake of his Bellator 216 win over Roy Nelson last month on DAZN and today told his social media followers that any more blows to the head could prove fatal.
“It’s over,” Filipovic told Nova TV (via MMA Junkie). “I hope I’m not going to cry, but it’s the inevitable retirement. I will never enter the ring again. I cannot let anyone hit me. I have to have (an MRI) in three months, (and) after that I will train again, boxing bags, but there is no such thing as a fight.”
Filipovic, 44, leaves in a high note, winning his last 10 fights with nine brutal finishes. No question his run in PRIDE, which resulted in the 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Championship, will be remembered as one of the best performances of his career.
So much for this do-over.
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