Zuffa’s Attempt (or Lack Thereof) to Recover From Disaster

Over the last six months, the UFC heavyweight division has been the Hurricane Katrina of promotional failures. Not only has the division failed to put on shows, but they have lost a champion to a contract dispute and every attempt at bringing in a big name star has been thwarted, except for one.

Since Gonzaga knocked out Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic (the UFC’s highest ranked fighter) at UFC 70, there has been a spiral of disaster, and the UFC has done little, if anything, to intelligently combat the rising water.

After Gonzaga’s knockout of CroCop and the loss of much-loathed heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at the hands of Randy Couture, the prospects went thinner than Couture’s hair, and it became urgent for the UFC to find hairplugs. Those showed up in the form of Brock Lesnar, who failed to impress in his recent debut, despite being the most hyped debuter the UFC has seen in, well, ever.

It’s not a stretch to say that UFC heavyweight division looked like New Orleans after the Hurricane, and it’s not going to far to say that the UFC’s President did as little as the USA’s. He, and the rest of the Zuffa brass, did little to push a serious negotiation with Andrei Arlovski (finally set to return after a nearly 10 month hiatus) or to attempt to reason with heavyweight champion Couture when they started feuding over his contract.

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Source: Team Crocop and thanks to the fella’ on the Sherdog Forums.

The UFC is losing their big names quickly these days. With rumors of Tim Sylvia wanting out, Tito Ortiz fighting his last fight, Andre Arlovski moving on, and the refusal to sign guys like Josh Barnett, what is Dana White thinking?

PRIDE’s 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has officially parted ways with the UFC and signed with DREAM - a new collaborative effort between FEG (K-1, HERO’S) and former DSE staff (PRIDE).

The new event is a drastic change following new creative leadership over HERO’s. FEG is hoping to bring new life to their MMA show and the addition of former DSE staff is what they are looking for.

At an official press conference on Wednesday the promotion announced that “Cro Cop” had joined their ranks and would be fighting on their upcoming March 15 card. No opponent was named.

Specific details surrounding his departure from the UFC are currently unknown.

Filipovic (22-6-2) signed with the UFC following his first major championship - winning PRIDE’s 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix. He made his UFC debut against Eddie Sanchez in February of 2007. Following his TKO win he lost his next two fights - succumbing to a head kick KO from Gabriel Gonzaga and dropping a decision to Cheick Kongo.

Prior to his 1-2 run in the UFC, “Cro Cop” was considered the number two heavyweight in the world. The Croatian striker holds wins over former UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE’s 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix finalist Josh Barnett, Olympic Judo gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida, Aleskander Emelianenko, former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, Kazuyuki Fujita, Japanese superstar and MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, and Ikuhisa Minowa.