Issue 129

June 2015

Before Cro Cop’s TKO Gonzaga had his defining moment

Mirko Crop Cop gained redemption over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC Fight Night 64 in April. But it was a different story when the two met eight years before. MMA fans were stunned by one of the most shocking and violent upsets in history, as FO reported in its June 2007 issue.

The Octagon touched down in Manchester, England for UFC 70: Nations Collide, a card full of international flavor. At the time, Cro Cop was the heavy favorite. He signed for the promotion as the most feared striker in MMA, following five years of highlight-reel knockouts in Pride. His left high kick was possibly the most dangerous weapon in the sport, having claimed so many victims in Japan.

Gonzaga was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb for the mighty Croatian to devour on his way to a dream title shot against then-heavyweight champion Randy Couture. It would be a super-fight between two of the biggest names in the sport. However, as was so often the case in 2007, which would become known as the year of the upset, things didn’t quite go as expected.

‘Napao’ loves to abandon his outstanding jiu-jitsu to stand and bang, often with disastrous results – but not this time. The Brazilian caught the first kick that came his way and took his foe straight out of his comfort zone. Down on the mat, Cro Cop had to contend with 243lb of Brazilian black belt in his guard, driving elbows into his dome and giving him no room to breathe.

It looked like he’d received a reprieve when Herb Dean stood the fighters up with 30 seconds of the first frame left to run. He was expected to take over, but he was destroyed by one of his own weapons. Out of nowhere, Gonzaga unleashed his own thunderous right high kick that flattened Cro Cop and instantly separated him from his senses.

The crowd, the commentators and the world went bananas. It was an unbelievable moment that’s still etched into the minds of MMA fans to this day.

420 unfriendly

Nick Diaz’s love for marijuana has been no secret in MMA. It became common knowledge when the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) overturned his gogoplata submission victory over Takanori Gomi in 2007. The result was changed to a no-contest after a positive test for the substance post fight. The NSAC’s Dr Tony Alamo controversially claimed Diaz was numb to the pain inflicted on him and would have lost the bout under normal circumstances. Eight years on, Diaz’s love for the herb is affecting his career again following positive UFC 183 drug tests.

White-line fever 

Way before the Jon Jones cocaine controversy, long-time UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard had his own problems. The lightweight tested positive for the drug following his submission loss to Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9. The Louisianan was fined 30% of his purse and given an eight-month suspension. A harsher punishment than Jones it seems, but ‘The Young Assassin’ tested positive post fight, whereas Jones had the drug in his system before his title defense against Daniel Cormier when he was out of competition.

NOSTRADAMMAUS: 

WAKE-UP CALL

With the ground-breaking news about the UFC’s purchase of Pride, Fighters Only gathered a panel of excited contributors to compile a list of potential dream fights and give their predictions on who would win. They correctly picked Chuck Liddell to beat Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson to top Rich Franklin. Unfortunately their proposed Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko and Michael Bisping vs. Igor Vovchanchyn bouts were not to be.