A fight in front of a home crowd at last

On March 10th, one of the strongest ultimate fighters in the world, and the best known Croatian policeman, Mirko Filipović known as Cro Cop, will fight in Zagreb, before a home crowd at last. His fight against New Zealander Ray Sefo will take place at the Zagreb Arena.

After more than 15 years of a professional career as a fighter in K-1, Pride, and finally UFC, the best known Croatian martial artist, Mirko Filipović known as Cro Cop, will fight before a home crowd at last. It will be the first time the Croatian policeman and martial artist of world fame will present his strength live in his homeland. Until now, we could only follow his matches via television, so the large Zagreb Arena will undoubtedly be filled to capacity for his fight against New Zealander Ray Sefo. The two fighters’ reputations guarantee a spectacle as they have both achieved excellent results in three disciplines – kickboxing, boxing and mixed martial arts.
Ray Sefo is a five time Muay Thai world champion and he has fought in the K-1 grand prix tournament final eight times.
Mirko’s career is probably known to everyone. He started fighting professionally in K-1 tournaments in 1996. Winning mostly by knockout in the first rounds, he became one of the most sought after K-1 fighters, becoming increasingly popular in Croatia and Japan alike. In 2001, he switched from K-1 to the Pride Fighting Championships, also based in Japan, where he fought until 2006. Many believe that that decision was not good for his career because he subsequently switched to American UFC (Ultimate Fight Championships), signing a six match contract, three of which resulted in defeats. In late October 2011, at the age of 37, Mirko announced his official retirement from professional fighting. Although the title of this fight suggests that it will be his last, Mirko himself is not denying the possibility he might fight again. He has 27 victories (20 by knock-out, 4 by submission, and 3 by referee decision), 9 defeats and two draws behind him, and it remains to be seen how he does in this upcoming fight. One thing is certain, however; 18.000 spectators will support Mirko in unison from the very first beats of his anthem “Wild Boys”, to which he traditionally enters the ring before each fight. Tickets to the Cro Cop Final Fight have been on sale since January 25th on the Eventim website at prices ranging between 150 and 700 kuna.