Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Pride FC Fighters

6. Mirko Filipovic

While he finishes sixth on this list and I personally had him fifth, “Cro Cop” is a more important figure in MMA history than most of those ahead him. He is the first man to come from an elite kickboxing background, with no grappling experience, and become not just a good mixed martial artist but a great one. No one else can say this: Igor Vovchanchyn was never an elite kickboxer and was also training judo and wrestling. Chuck Liddell wasn’t an elite kickboxer either, and had also wrestled in college, which he relied upon more than most realize. Even Bas Rutten was also never a top kickboxer and leaned on Pancrase’s unique ruleset. He likely would have gone 0-2 in the UFC if not for the blatant bias the organization had for him, which I've written about. “Cro Cop” was the first. One reason was that his style of striking was perfect for MMA, being a one-shot sniper who looked for the right opportunity to throw monstrous punches and kicks that would flatline opponents. Meanwhile, he developed a fantastic sprawl to ward off wrestlers and was no slouch off his back, able to get back up as well as defend himself. The fact that Pride allowed kicks to downed opponents helped, as Filipovic would throw vicious kicks off his back to the fighter on top, who was on his knees. Filipovic went an excellent 18-4-2 in Pride. His career began in curious fashion, with a time limit draw against Japanese pro wrestling superstar Nobuhiko Takada, the same man who once “won” a horribly fixed fight against Mark Coleman. Filipovic was likely told not to push too hard, and obliged. After that, he had a draw in a heavyweight bout against Pride middleweight (93 kg/203 lb) kingpin Wanderlei Silva, whom we will see later in this list, though many believe Silva should have gotten the nod. “Cro Cop” forced a doctor stoppage of fellow Top 10 inclusion Kazushi Sakuraba, destroyed top heavyweight contender Heath Herring with kicks and punches, scored a classic head kick knockout of the great Vovchanchyn, and then garnered another quick head kick finish of future popular pro wrestler Alberto Rodriguez. This brought him to a showdown with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for Pride's interim heavyweight title. Filipovic had taken the MMA world by storm and was a large -280 favorite for the contest. Alas, one should never underestimate the Brazilian's toughness and resourcefulness, as he got a submission in a fight he was being badly beaten up in, one of the greatest fights in the sport's history. After decimating enormous, powerful wrestler Ron Waterman with soccer kicks and easily disposing of Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Filipovic suffered one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when he was knocked out by former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman in under two minutes. In retrospect, it shouldn't have been so shocking; Randleman's striking was limited, but he always had a good, powerful, and fast left hook, one he had hurt other excellent kickboxers with, including Maurice Smith. However, Filipovic was undeterred and redoubled his efforts, going on a legendary seven-fight winning stretch with six finishes, including a brutal knockout of Aleksander Emelianenko—a top 10 heavyweight at the time, hard as it is to believe now—followed by three dominant victories over former UFC heavyweight champions; first 46 seconds for Josh Barnett, then guillotining Randleman in 41 seconds to get revenge, the first submission win of his career, and finally knocking out Randleman’s mentor Mark Coleman, whom I had as my No. 9 pick in this list, in under four minutes. After another highlight reel kick knockout of Ibragim Magomedov, the “Match of the Century” was set up, as Filipovic challenged Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. This is still one of my ten favorite fights ever and, in my opinion, Emelianenko's single greatest triumph. It's no discredit to either man, but Emelianenko was the winner. After beating Barnett a second time by decision, “Cro Cop” lost a close split decision against another elite kickboxer who was making a successful transition to MMA after him in Mark Hunt. He would then win his last four Pride fights, all by knockout, to claim his lone title in the organization, that of 2005 Absolute Grand Prix Champion. This might also have been “Cro Cop” at his very best. He looked sensational in early knockouts of Ikuhisa Minowa and Hidehiko Yoshida. His boxing, never quite as good as his kicks before, was now every bit as outstanding and dangerous. This set up a semifinal showdown with Silva, who had arguably beaten him 4 years prior. This time, Filipovic ripped him apart with punches, and knocked him out a little over halfway into the first round with another head kick. A rematch showdown with Nogueira never happened, as Barnett had edged him out in the semi-finals, so Filipovic satisfied himself with defeating Barnett for a third time, knocking him out in just over 5 minutes to be crowned Grand Prix champion. Thus, Mirko Filipovic's career in Pride ended, being even more important to the development of the sport than it was great.

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