Mirko bails out on UFC?

The UFC gave Cro Cop a deadline this Monday. Reportedly the UFC hadn't heard from Mirko since his last fight, a decision loss to French kickboxer Cheick Kongo. The UFC wanted to know if Mirko was still going to fulfill his UFC contract (reportedly at $400,000 per fight for six fights over two years). And Mirko apparently now has an answer--"no".

Flipovic, 1-2 in the UFC, was one of the biggest stars in MMA when he abandoned PRIDE FC--just before the company collapsed under financial pressure and a scandal involving the Yakuza--and jumped ship to the UFC. At the time Cro Cop was ranked as high as the second best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA behind Russian juggernaut Fedor Emelianenko.

In his UFC debut, Cro Cop defeated newcomer Eddie Sanchez, but in his next fight against lumbering heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga, he was punished with elbows and eventually knocked out with a vicious head kick. Mirko responded to the loss with a sleepwalk against Kongo, eventually losing a unanimous decision. Kongo circled left throughout the fight, preventing Flipovic from getting-off his patented left high kick, and pressured the Croatian star against the cage. Flipovic looked frustrated and defeated throughout the fight.

And now his less than stellar UFC run appears to be over. The rumour swirling around the internet is that Cro Cop will return to Japan to fight with DREAMS, a new MMA promotion from some of the same people that organized PRIDE FC. Easier fights, no drug testing, and more money are enough motivation for fighters who don't aspire to be the best--and apparently that is enough for Mirko.

Sad if true. A lot of MMA fans, myself included, dreamed of seeing Cro Cop vs. the likes of Sylvia, Vera, Arlovski, Couture, et. al..