"I will win against Cro Cop !!!"

"I will win against Cro Cop by knockout or submission !!!"

Gabriel Gonzaga is loud, just like many Cro Cop's previous opponents. Brazilian ju-jitsu master boldly stated he will brutally take care of world's second best heavyweight (the best is Fedor Emelianenko) on Saturday:
"I will win against Cro Cop by knockout or submission."

The UFC president has already confirmed that the winner of the Filipovic-Gonzaga matchup will face the heavyweight champion Randy Couture (in August). The majority predict that Cro Cop will win the status of the top contender.
Gonzaga says:
"Yes, Cro Cop will indeed fight for the title, but the light-heavyweight one. Because I will fight for the heavyweight title, and not him."

Mirko doesn't react to that. He is completely calm and confident and repeats that his strikes talk instead of him. If the high-kick lands, Gonzaga will never again even think of being so loud before a fight where he is the underdog.

In his last appearance, on December 30th 2006, Gonzaga dominated Carmelo Marrero. He caught him in an armbar, but also hit him with a great straight punch.

Will Mirko Cro Cop end his career soon ???

According to his training partners, Mirko is training like he's fighting for the world title. But, in the moments after hard training he doesn't hide being fed up by spartanic trainings and the wish to end his career after the UFC contract (5 fights).
"I'd prefer that more of my fights happen in Europe, because I don't like to travel far from home", Mirko says.

"Fruscht" from Sherdog.net forum translate this text to English from Croatian newspaper "Vecernji-list".

About Mirko Cro Cop possible career end after 5 fights for UFC (Blog admin comment)

Don't worry, Mirko will be here after this 5 fights :).
Now we have same owner of UFC and PRIDE. Mirko is probably only one who can beet Fedor at this moment and i see 2 or 3 Cro Cop Vs Fedor fight in future. With this fights Mirko and Fedor will earn a lot, this is big money oportunity for both. Lorenzo Fertitta can pay as much Mirko want for few more fights and why will "Number 2" in MMA - Mirko end his career now? Hi is probably in best shape now and he is not too old (just see age of Couture or Liddell).

Napão talks Cro Cop, ADCC

This Saturday, Gabriel Napão will have a chance to carve his name on UFC history. To do that, he only needs to defeat Mirko Cro Cop, who was brought from Pride as major star and is deemed as the main favorite to the take the heavyweight title from the hands of 43-year-old Randy Couture.

In the United States, where he’s been living since early this year, Napão has trained hard with his teammates, and believes he can come out of the octagon assembled at the MEN Arena, in Manchester, as winner.

A few days away from the biggest challenge of his career, Gabriel Napão talked to GRACIEMAG.com about his expectations not only regarding the Cro Cop challenge, but mainly about ADCC 2007, where he will be fighting in the 99kg and open-weight classes. Check it out.

How have you been preparing to take on Mirko Cro Cop? A win over him will probably give you a title shot. Is the pressure greater in that case?
The preparation for my fight with Cro Cop was very good. My team, Team Link, studied his game thoroughly and my coaches extracted the very best from me. I am in the best of my shape and I am going for a knockout.

The pressure is the same as in other UFC fights. I want to be the heavyweight champion, and you can only do so by facing the best. I have three wins in a row and I’m only thinking about this bout. After that, we’ll see how things go.

You performed brilliantly in the last ADCC. Which was your best fight? How do you evaluate current champion Jeff Monson’s game?
ADCC 2005 was awesome. I had great moments in California. No doubt my best fight was against Pé de Pano, where I achieved a submission in only one minute.

Jeff Monson is a very tough guy and he is really good at stalling, not trying to take away his merits. I’d like to fight him again, because I’m in my best shape and I believe I can change tactics and beat the Snowman.

Do you consider yourself a favorite this year?
I don’t worry about that, because favoritism wins nothing. I believe for being runner-up in 2005 and world champion in 2006, the press and fans see me as a favorite, but I don’t think about it.

If you do take on Monson again, do you intend to make any change in strategy?
If I fight him again I guarantee it will be different. I’m very well physically, psychologically, and training a lot. I’m going to fight to submit him.

What do you expect from your performance in ADCC 2007?
I want to be the champion both in my weight class and the open-weight category.

Who do you think you be the toughest opponent in your weight class (above 99kg)?
Every fight is tought – no one’s out there to makes things easy.

In your opinion, who is going to stand out this year?
I believe in his weight class there is no one to beat Marcelinho [Garcia], and that he is also a strong name if he fight the absolute.

How is your submission grappling training going? What has changed in your game and training since you started competing in the UFC?
I’ve been training wrestling and standup a lot, as well as continuing with my Jiu-Jitsu training. I think I have improved my physical condition very much, and that it can make a difference.
(graciemag.com)