Cro Cop's Last Fight On Fight Network

[sportscardrage]

For Immediate Release – March 7, 2012
Fight Network Announces Live Broadcast for Final Fight: Cro Cop vs. Sefo on March 10

Toronto – Canada’s Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, will broadcast Final Fight: Cro Cop vs. Sefo live on March 10, which is being billed as Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s last professional kickboxing bout, marking the culmination of an exceptional career.

The live broadcast on March 10 from Filipovic’s homeland of Zagreb, Croatia will feature a number of international kickboxing sensations. In the main event, “Cro Cop” returns to his kickboxing roots for a showdown with five-time muay thai champion and K-1 legend Ray Sefo.

“Fight Network has established itself as the premier home for world-class kickboxing action,” said Chad Midgley, VP of Programming & Production at Fight Network. “A blockbuster card of this magnitude featuring so many legends is sure to deliver fireworks and we’re excited to offer the event live to our viewers. Filipovic is a true legend and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to broadcast what could be the final fight of an illustrious career.”

Filipovic (16-7-1, 11 KO), 37, will compete for the first time since his third consecutive mixed martial arts loss against Roy Nelson at UFC 137 this past October. A mixed martial arts legend with notable victories over Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Mark Coleman and Pat Barry, the 2006 Pride open-weight grand prix winner broke into the fight world as an elite K-1 combatant, amassing wins over Bob Sapp, Remy Bonjasky, Mark Hunt, Peter Aerts, Musashi, Mike Bernardo and Jerome Le Banner.

Sefo (56-21-1, 38 KO), 41, the head kickboxing instructor at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, was last seen in a mixed martial arts contest against Valentijn Overeem, suffering a first-round submission setback in a Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix reserve bout last February. The New Zealander last competed as a kickboxer in the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix, dropping a hard-fought decision to Tyrone Spong. Sefo’s list of notable kickboxing victims includes Sapp, Aerts, Hunt, Bernardo, Le Banner, Stefan Leko, Hong Man Choi, Melvin Manhoef, Gary Goodridge and Gilbert Yvel.

In another featured fight, It’s Showtime! heavyweight champion Daniel Ghita returns for the first time since capturing the title as he meets Sergei Lascenko in a rematch of their August 2009 battle, which Ghita won by first-round knockout.

Ghita (40-7, 30 KO), 30, is coming off a first-round trouncing of Hesdy Gerges this past January. The Romanian leg kick specialist holds marquee victories over Errol Zimmerman and Sergei Kharitonov.

Lascenko (29-9, 13 KO), 24, is riding a five-fight winning streak. The Ukrainian SuperKombat grand prix winner, a product of the world-famous Mike’s Gym, holds wins over the likes of Erhan Diniz, Dzevad Poturak and Brice Guidon.

The world-class production on March 10 will feature ring announcing from Michael Buffer and Jane Park as a guest host. Former K-1 star Nobuaki Kakuda will serve as a special guest referee.

The full fight card includes:

· Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (16-7-1, 11 KO) vs. Ray Sefo (56-21-1, 38 KO)
· Daniel Ghita (40-7, 30 KO) vs. Sergei Lascenko (29-9, 13 KO)
· Igor Jurkovic (29-3, 23 KO) vs. Freddy Kemayo (60-18, 43 KO)
· Mladen Brestovac (36-8, 25 KO) vs. Mourad Bouzidi (65-15, 32 KO)
· Dzevad Poturak (47-16, 30 KO) vs. Ismail Londt (27-3, 12 KO)
· Mladen Kujundzic (8-3, 5 KO) vs. TBA
· Agron Preteni (56-10-3) vs. Guy Pacome Assi (11-6, 5 KO)
· Stefan Jelicv (6-1, 6 KO) vs. Michael Duut (15-5, 7 KO)
· Ivan Posavec (19-4) vs. Miran Fabjan (34-5)

Well people might know Mirko from his, less than stellar, stint in the UFC. However he was a beast when Pride was still a company. His kicks were something that could stop a rhino. However when he went to the UFC for some reason he just couldn't do anything. It was sad for Cro Cop fans to see his UFC career amount to...well nothing...at 37 though I can see why he's hanging it up. Hopefully he ends the fight with a mean head kick, which would be fitting.