The Memory Remains...

"Today is the happiest day of my life."

With those words, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic capped off a four fight (two in one night) streak that brought him the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix title.  Unknown at the time was that not only would his remarkable performance in the tournament mark the best stretch of fighting in his entire career, it would also be his only championship victory.

Before Gabriel Gonzaga head kicked him into his decline and Frank Mir managed to defeat him in the stand-up in a disappointing UFC 119 performance, Mirko Cro Cop was considered the most feared striker in all of MMA.  Cro Cop came into MMA with a legitimate K-1 kickboxing background and showed it with his deadly striking, particularly his brutal head kicks.  So feared were those kicks that Mirko himself would describe them as "right kick hospital, left kick morgue."

Cro Cop came into the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix at a bit of a crossroads.  He entered the tournament with losses in two of his last three fights, a unanimous decision loss to Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko in August 2005 and a split decision loss to Mark Hunt that December.  After a five month break to regroup, Cro Cop entered Pride: Total Elimination Absolute on May 5, 2006.

His "opponent" was the legendary Japanese fighter Ikuhisa Minowa.  Opponent is a term used loosely, as Cro Cop decimated him in 70 seconds in the evening's main event.  In his post-fight interview, Mirko thanked the fans and issued a quote that should have struck fear into the hearts of the rest of the competitors in the Grand Prix: "I hope you enjoy the event.  More importantly, Cro Cop is back."

Gone was the Cro Cop that was rendered ineffective against Fedor and disappointed against Hunt.  The man to show up for this tournament was hungry and focused like never before or ever again.  For current fans accustomed to the Cro Cop that refused to pull the trigger on the undersized Anthony Perosh at UFC 110 and seemed willing to be Junior Dos Santos' punching bag at UFC 103, the way he dismantled the rest of his competition in the tournament is frightening.

His next opponent was famed judoka and Pride's biggest draw, Hidehiko Yoshida.  This was looked at as a challenging fight due to Yoshida's slick ground game and the fact he had never before been stopped in any of his prior fights, which included two tangles with Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva.  While the Yoshida-Cro Cop fight wasn't as short as the Minowa match, it was no less brutal.  Over the course of seven and a half minutes, Cro Cop unloaded savage leg kicks  that fractured Yoshida's right leg and forced him to forfeit after he could no longer stand.

The Yoshida victory put Cro Cop in the final four of the Grand Prix with American wrestler Josh Barnett, former Pride Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and the aforementioned Wanderlei Silva.  The semifinal and final matches were held on September 10, 2006, his 32nd birthday, at Pride: Final Conflict Absolute.

Up first was Wanderlei Silva.  For years, these two had been two of the most popular fighters in Pride and fans were salivating over the prospects of a battle between them.  Silva entered the tournament after Fedor had to withdraw due to injury and in his match against Kazuyuki Fujita, Wanderlei became the first person to ever knock out the renowned "Iron Head."  A natural middleweight (205 lbs.), Silva actually came into this fight four pounds heavier than Cro Cop at 225 lbs.  This would mark the second time they squared off, with the first being a 2002 draw fought under K-1 rules.  The rematch would be much more decisive.

From the onset, the difference between the striking styles of both men was apparent.  Silva waded in aggressively, throwing wild, looping bombs that Cro Cop easily avoided.  Mirko on the other hand was much more efficient, pummeling Silva with punches and kicks.  Early in the fight he landed two kicks to Wanderlei's body that instantly turned "The Axe Murderer's" torso purple.  After a punch that closed up Silva's eye, the referees considered ending the fight.  As Silva protested, a quick glance at Cro Cop's face revealed a man who looked like he was about to destroy anything set in front of him.  After the referees decided to allow the fight to continue, Cro Cop annihilated Silva with a vicious left head kick that will be shown on highlight reels forever.

After the five and a half minutes of brutality unleashed on Wanderlei, Cro Cop had one opponent left: former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett.  Barnett came into the finals with a split decision win over Nogueira that night and prior submission victories over Aleksander Emelianenko and Mark Hunt in the first two rounds of the tournament.  The meeting between Cro Cop and Barnett on this night would be their third meeting, with Mirko winning the first by injury stoppage and the second by unanimous decision.

Like their first battle and every Cro Cop fight in the Grand Prix, this would end in the first round.  Mirko continued his striking onslaught and by stuffing Barnett's takedowns, nullified the main strength of "the Baby Faced Assassin."  After having his face battered for five minuts and thirty two seconds, Barnett submitted after a Cro Cop punch to the eye that rendered him useless.  With the stoppage, Mirko Cro Cop became the winner of the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix.

After the tournament victory, Cro Cop was uncharacteristically emotional.  Prior to thies display, fans had only seen a stoic man who went about his business in the ring quietly and efficiently.  During his post-fight interview, he gave a tearful thank you to his team and dedicated his victory to his father.  He also revealed that before the tournament began, he had mad a vow to retired if he lost any of the fights.

In retrospect, perhaps he should have considered retiring after winning the Grand Prix and Cro Cop has subsequently admitted as such.  Since leaving Pride in 2006, Mirko's career has been a mixed bag.  The predatory instinct and crisp striking that won him the Grand Prix have not been evident in his fights in the UFC.  Newer fans who have seen him fight in the last half-decade have heard tales about how devastating Mirko Cro Cop can be, but have never actually witnessed it.  Anyone who wants to see how truly dominant Mirko Cro Cop could be just has to go back to that five month span of May through September 2006 and witness his brutal run through the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix.