Kongo and Hamill look to defy Cro Cop and Bisping at UFC 75

With UFC 75 being polished for delivery, it is easy to forget the historic Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Dan Henderson title unification bout is not the only fight on the card. Mirko Cro Cop looks to use Cheick Kongo as a Gabriel Gonzaga stand in, while Matt Hamill sets out to prove he would have won season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter. Get in-depth now!

Quinton Jackson battles Dan Henderson to unify the UFC and Pride 205 titles on September 8, 2007 in London, England. The magnetism of what could be mixed martial arts’ most important fight in history is well deserved. There is, however, an undercard that requires attention.

Mirko Cro Cop was once known as MMA’s stand-up fighting version of fear. After capturing Pride’s 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Champion, the Croatian left behind Japan’s honored war zone for the rabid arenas of the UFC.

The structural change of the fighting arena, which Crocop failed to train for, caught up with him in the form of severe underdog and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Gabriel Gonzaga.

“Napao” knocked out Cro Cop with a head kick eerily familiar to the highlights Cro Cop reeled off in Pride.

Cro Cop’s upcoming UFC 75 showdown with Cheick Kongo relies entirely on his mental state. Is the sound of fury that sent him terrorizing Pride’s ranks after an upset loss to Kevin Randleman in 2005 ringing again?

Cro Cop has expressed desire to retire, but his fighting future should not factor into the Kongo equation. The thirty-two-year old cannot look past his opponent with lackadaisical training and/or a tentative performance that typically characterize his losses.

He appears to be rededicated. He bought a cage. He is training in real jiu-jitsu (as opposed to submission defense) with one of the world’s best in Dean Lister. In addition, he added Gilbert Yvel and Remy Bonjaski to prepare his striking for the Thai boxer.

As Cro Cop has said himself, no one can beat him if he comes forward.

The trouble is Kongo will come forward. The mammoth stalks opponents and can send fighters reeling along with strong hands and sharp knees. His key to victory is to close the distance against the superior striker, negating Cro Cop’s NASCAR-fast precision leg kicks. Training with Juanito Ibarra and an array of top fighters in that camp, Kongo will elevate his game and look far better than he did in his impressive defeat of Assuerio Silva.

While both fighters are improving their groundwork, no one is likely to take it to the ground. This will be a stand-up fight.

Cro Cop must be violent grace under pressure against Kongo’s assault. A win for the Frenchman would thrust him into the title picture. A loss for Cro Cop will regale him to unjust criticisms of being a “has been” and a “never was” and to the backseat of the UFC’s heavyweight division. Given years of fighting elite competition, Crocop should be fear incarnate again, however, do not believe victory a certainty. That is certain defeat.

A light heavyweight showdown between Michael Bisping and Matt Hamill can be billed as The Ultimate Fighter season 3 Finale that never happened.

This fight has compelling implications of the participant’s future. A hearty Hamill can be an early awakening for the undersized Wolfslair Gym star. While “The Hammer” lacks experience, wrestling is the one discipline that can grind out an MMA win without a full arsenal of martial weapons. If he can suffocate a win out of “The Count,” it lends weight to Tito Ortiz’s prodigious image of the physically impaired fighter.

Top-flight training makes the difference in this bout. England’s favorite son has been sparring with Quinton Jackson and the mastermind behind “Rampage,” Juanito Ibarro. Bisping can submit, pound out, or knockout the Ohio native. Hamill only has the option of a decision victory unless he can summon Sobral-Heath-esque ground and pound to demoralize the gritty Brit to a technical knockout.

Kongo and Hamill are the unanimous underdogs, but MMA is exciting because stacked odds are often caught in swirling winds.

*By Danny Acosta