Is Cro Cop getting smaller?

[Big Worm]

I don't know if he's getting smaller? But one thing ids for sh!t sure !! He is getting suckier!

[Slapper]

CroCop is going through the same thing that many other fighters, like Kerr, Tyson et al, went through when the aura of invincibility is removed from their mojo.

Truth is that if you look at CroCop's loses, we could see this coming. I mean, take away his kicks, stay away from his charges, be patient and he will open up.

I think, with time, the Croatian relied more and more on his kicks, and he paid for it, as he did not adapt to the game.

[Slapper]

Also, fighters no longer "work" (kick) the legs like they used to. The majority, including boxing, STILL go for the head, even though working the torso or the legs is even moreso devastating, physically. And a bigger target too.

Nowadays you see people swinging wildly, wasting energy, seeking a punch or a quick kick to the head. MMA is going the way of boxing.

[realkarateblackbelt]

Cro Cop had a lot working against him.

At one time he scored victories over the best stand-up fighters in the world: Aerts, LeBanner, Musashi, et al...
But he's been out of kickboxing for at least 4 years. His skills have waned a little bit.
The guys he was fighting in PRIDE recently have comparatively weak stand-up, and strong grappling ability.
He was able to serve in PRIDE as a sort of heavyweight Chuck Liddell, avoiding the ground with his excellent takedown defense
and knocking out the grapplers, without having to push himself to the limit as he did in K-1.

By the time he came to the UFC, his style was well known, and it became easier to neutralize the kicks he had come to be so dependant upon.
Gonzaga scored a victory by taking him down and setting up the knockout with devastating elbows.

After losing to Gonzaga, psychologically, he was less inclined to be aggressive in the Kongo fight. This also hurt him.
He may also still be suffering from an ankle injury after the knockout. On top of all this, the Gonzaga loss left him with the feeling that he needs to redeem himself with the signature "left high kick."
So throughout the fight with Kongo, he was looking for the big knockout, and consequently, he was picked apart,
a la Holyfield/Tyson.

And then there's Kongo...
Kongo's style is perfectly suited to beat a rusty, broken Mirko Cro Cop. He used all of his advantages very well...constantly judgining reach, keeping the right hand up to avoid the roundhouse, using his superior clinch, knees, muscling him against the cage, breaking him down, etc...
Kongo has improved his ground skill considerably in a short period of time. He could be a top MMA fighter. His stock jumped a lot.
How could you bet against a guy call Kongo?

And finally there is the steroid question...

In a pre-fight interview Kongo himself said something to the effect that he didn't think Cro Cop would do as well because he's lacking certain substances.
In his fight against Bonjasky he looked considerably more broad shouldered and defined. He was a tank. Bojansky is about the same size as Kongo, yet Mirko still held his own physically...the same can't be said in this last fight. Perhaps the substances were taking away and he lost that explosive power. This can be a depressing realisation. Perhaps he's also feeling age now.

These are the reasons I chose Kongo over Cro Cop.