From the out-of-the-blue department: a press release was posted on Mirko Cro Cop's official website today, stating that the legendary Croatian striker (24-6-2, 1-2 UFC) will return to the UFC next month on the card for UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany, where he will apparently take on fellow heavyweight Mustapha Al-Turk (6-4, 0-1 UFC).
A few caveats before I quote the press release though: although the site is indeed Mirko's official website, I have seen no news of this bout or Mirko's UFC return anywhere else on the web today. Mustapha Al-Turk was already scheduled to take on debuting American Top Team heavyweight Todd Duffee on the 99 card, and that fight is still listed on the official event page on the UFC website.
Nonetheless, like I mentioned, this press release is on Cro Cop's official homepage, so unless some hacker got creative, there's likely something to this story. I'm still awaiting official UFC confirmation or reports on other reliable sites (Junkie, Weekly, Fighters Only etc.) before I get my hopes fully up.
With that being said:
Mirko's next fight is set for June 13th in Germany, which means that he's back in the UFC, a place that he didn't have his best moments:
"I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk. I didn't do well in my first three appearances - I wasn't myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where.", claims Cro Cop.
UFC 99 will be Cro Cop's first fight this year with the possibility of three fights coming by years end.
"It's hard to talk about concrete plans, but I would really like to fight at least three times this year. I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot but for now, I'll focus only on my next fight and after that we'll see what's going to be on the menu next", says Cro Cop.
Although the UFC 99 card looks stacked, it seems that the UFC officials can see the benefits of hiring a top European fighter for their first ever UFC show in Germany.
I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC. I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I'll make it up to you.", promises Cro Cop.
Al-Turk as an opponent also makes sense for Cro-Cop's return, as the Brit is tailor-made for a signature KO victory by the Croatian. Of course many thought the same thing when Mirko fought Gonzaga, but Al-Turk is nowhere near the threat that Gonzaga was as far as takedowns and BJJ. Although he's primarily a wrestler, Al-Turk has shown in Cage Rage and while getting brutalized by Cheick Kongo that he doesn't particularly excel at it. He's likely heavy handed, but most of his strikes are delivered from top position on the ground, rather than while standing.
If the fight does happen, I expect Cro Cop to use his excellent takedown defense (provided his knee injuries are fully healed) to thwart any attempts by Al-Turk to get him to the ground, en-route to a brutal KO from punches or the trademark high kick.
UPDATE #1: Thanks to GeeDub in the comments section, I've learned that much of the quoted content in the press release comes from Mirko's official blog at: MMA ID
UPDATE #2: The Todd Duffee-Mustapha Al Turk bout has now been removed from the UFC's event page for UFC 99.
UPDATE #3: Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Michael David Smith at AOL Fanhouse have received independent confirmations from Dana White that Cro Cop vs. Al Turk is a go for UFC 99.
