First of all, I want to say that I hate Direct T.V. Last night, my satellite had problems picking up Spike T.V. at 8:00 pm, so I figure I will leave it on Spike and it will come in later that night. So I sit there watching a blank screen, I call Direct T.V., they tell me to reset the box, and that doesn’t work. So they tell me it will clear up soon, but they don’t know when. At 9:00 pm, I go to sleep out of rage. I wake up around 12:00 am and Spike comes in a little bit, I clear my eyes and I see Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga.Then, without warning, I watch as the relatively-unknown Gonzaga throws a high kick and ends the fight! Cro Cop falls in such a way that I've never seen, his leg and ankle are bent backwards while his arms are stretched out. Cro Cop is clearly out cold prompting the medics to come running over while an animated Gonzaga celebrates around the octagon and becomes the number one contender for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Title.
Most people won’t believe me, but I thought all along that Cro Cop was going to lose this fight by knockout via punches, just not one kick. I thought Cro Cop would get caught with a wild punch like he did against Kevin Randleman in his first fight. I predicted this victory after seeing the “eye of the tiger” in Gonzaga in “The Countdown to UFC 70” video packages. Gonzaga looked very strong with comparable knockout power. He is also the younger fighter and seemed more hungry for the win. I have watched Cro Cop for years now, and I have decided that he fights his best when he is cautious of his opponent. Cro Cop annihilated every opponent in the Pride FC 2006 Grandprix tournament, which was not an easy task. Cro Cop was fast on his feet and used a variety of combinations in the 2006 Grandprix tournament. The little bit of the fight I saw last night featured Cro Cop standing right in front of Gonzaga and showing little respect. Generally, when a larger fight is in the distance, such as Cro Cop vs. Couture, people tend to overlook the present bout. This past summer MMA fans were getting excited to see Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva. What happened next? Cro Cop knocked out Wanderlei in the Grandprix tournament and squashed that fight. So what is next for both fighters?
The way Cro Cop was knocked out, I believe his career could be over! Cro Cop has one of the best highlight reels in MMA, beating some of the best fighters with his devastating left high kick and fast hands. Cro Cop was, in my opinion, the second best heavyweight in MMA until this knockout by Gonzaga. This knockout is one of the best knockouts in UFC history. How ironic Cro Cop is finished by one of his own moves and maybe will be featured on UFC Ultimate Knockouts 5, if I’m counting correctly. When Randy Couture was knocked out twice, we all said it was his age. When Wanderlei Silva lost his two pervious fights, his excuses were the weight difference and he was sick, respectively. For Cro Cop, there are none. In North America, Cro Cop will be known as the guy who got knocked out by Gonzaga unless they have followed Pride FC. If Cro Cop comes back, he will never win the UFC Heavyweight Championship or return the to level of success he had been accustomed to. Gonzaga will face Couture in a few months and lose by decision or win by submission in a shocking match.
My finals words are this: I respect Cro Cop for just getting in the octagon -- MMA is no joke and anyone can win or lose on any night. Gonzaga could shock the world again and beat Couture and become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Whether its Pride FC or UFC, it only takes one punch, kick, or submission to end a fight.
Donald "Diddy Kong" Davenport writing for The Irish Whip
1 Comment:
Yeah man, that knock down was just plain nasty. The best part about it was that I wasn't expecting anything like it, because when it happened they were hyping Cro Cop's kicks.
Post a Comment