Sherdog Preview: PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix
Mirko Filipovic vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
May 5, 2006
FILIPOVIC: Mirko
Filipovic (Pictures), or “Cro Cop” as he’s known, is a
Croatian Special Forces officer. He is a former I.K.B.F. World
heavyweight full contact champion, K-1 Grand Prix ’99 finalist and
a K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka finalist.
Mirko trains with Rodrigo Artilheiro, Fabricio Werdum (Pictures), Igor Kolakusic, Igor Pokrajac and the rest of the Cro Cop Squad Gym. He has a 40-5 amateur and 12-5 professional boxing record as well as a 17-4-2 record in MMA.
Mirko made the move from K-1 kickboxing to MMA in 2001 and debuted
against Antonio Inoki disciple Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures) at the K-1 Andy Hug Memorial in
Japan. He faced current PRIDE matchmaker Nobuhiko Takada (Pictures) at PRIDE 17 in a draw and battled
PFC middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) at PRIDE 20.
The rules for the Silva bout were in Filipovic’s favor as there were quick stand ups but Silva would’ve won easily had it been under full MMA rules.
Filipovic went on a 4-1 run knocking out MMA legend Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures), UFC veteran Ron Waterman (Pictures), RINGS veteran Yoshihisa Yamamoto (Pictures) and Mexican wrestler Dos Caras Jr. (Pictures) His only loss was to Rodrigo Nogueira at the PRIDE Final Conflict show. Mirko fought well in the first round but was submitted in the second and lost his chance to claim the PFC interim heavyweight championship title.
He fought Kevin Randleman (Pictures) in the opening round of the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament and was knocked out by the wrestler. An unimpressive decision win over Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) was followed with a pair of consecutive knockouts over Shungo Oyama (Pictures) and Aleksander Emeliananko.
Mirko scored a freak submission win over Josh Barnett (Pictures) at PRIDE 28 and at last New Year’s Eve show, Filipovic exacted his revenge over Randleman, submitting the wrestler via guillotine choke early in the first round.
Riding high on the strength of five straight victories (two by KO), Mirko knocked out former UFC and PFC champion Mark Coleman (Pictures) in the first round at PRIDE 29. Moving a step closer to a showdown with heavyweight champ Fedor, Mirko stopped his Red Devil teammate Ibragim Magomedov (Pictures) with a kick to the body at Critical Countdown ’05.
The stage was set for the bout we all wanted to see but despite an improved all-around game, Filipovic could not beat the champion. Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) retained his title via unanimous decision at Final Conflict ’05 and answered a lot of questions with his performance. Mirko defeated “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett in the rematch by unanimous decision and showed that, although not ready to dethrone the champion, he belongs at the top of the division.
His most recent appearance was at the PRIDE Shockwave ’05 show where he lost a decision to kickboxer Mark Hunt (Pictures).
MINOWA: Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) is a submission wrestler and a 2nd Dan in judo with a record of 32-23-8 in MMA. “The Punk” is the 1999 Neo Blood Tournament Champion, the 1997 CMA/KPW Tournament Champion and the 1997 Complete Fighting Championship. He has trained at the PANCRASEism Gym, with Brazilian Top Team and in Korea and Thailand.
Ikuhisa began fighting MMA in 1996, competing in the Lumax Cup (like judo but with gloves and striking). He began his six-year stint with the Pancrase organization in ’97 and fought many well known MMA veterans: Yuki Kondo (Pictures) (lost by submission), Kousei Kubota (Pictures) (draw/draw/decision win), Jason Delucia (Pictures) (lost by submission/lost by decision), Adrian Serrano (Pictures) (won on points/won by submission), Evan Tanner (Pictures) (lost by submission), Travis Fulton (draw), Daiju Takase (Pictures) (won by submission), Semmy Schilt (Pictures) (lost by decision), Chris Lytle (Pictures) (draw), Brian Gassaway (Pictures) (won by submission), Keiichiro Yamamiya (Pictures) (lost by decision), Paulo Filho (Pictures) (lost by decision), Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) (won by submission/won by decision), Sanae Kikuta (Pictures) (loss by cut) and Ricardo Almeida (Pictures) (lost by decision).
He last fought in the UFC when it came to Japan in 2000 and beat Joe Slick by cut stoppage at UFC 25.
Minowa made his PFC debut at ‘03 Shockwave show against Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and though he fought well in the first round, he was pounded with strikes early in the second. At PRIDE Bushido 2, he went toe-to-toe with Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) and lasted just over a minute.
Ikuhisa clearly beat Ryan Gracie at PRIDE Bushido 3 but lost a split decision. In that bout, Gracie started strong but faded and Minowa saw his opportunity and ran with it. And though he finished the match strong, the fact of the matter was he’s lost three in a row and four out of five bouts. Rebounding like a champion, Minowa went on to win five in a row, including a victory at the Korean-promoted Gladiator Fighting Championships and three straight victories in PRIDE Bushido.
He beat UFC veteran Kenichi Yamamoto (Pictures) with strikes at Bushido 4 and won a split decision over U-File Camp fighter Ryuki Ueyama (Pictures) at Bushido 5. At the ’04 Shockwave show, Minowa stopped K-1 stud Stefan Leko (Pictures) in less than 30 seconds and submitted Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) at PRIDE Bushido 6 in just over a minute.
Then he ran into the “New York Bad Ass.” Phil Baroni (Pictures) made his PFC debut at PRIDE Bushido 7 and Minowa dominated much of the first round. Early in the second, Minowa opted to trade with the brawler and paid for his decision, falling to a series of strikes and stomps.
Minowa next faced UFC veteran Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) at PRIDE Bushido 8 won via decision. He went on to defeat Baroni in the rematch during quarterfinals of the Bushido tournament but lost to former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) late in the first round.
Minowa fought in his third consecutive Shockwave show in ’05. This time the “powers that be” matched him against Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures). In Japan the bout was considered a marquee match-up and the pair fought nearly the entire first round. When Sakuraba secured a Kimura arm lock and in the final seconds of the round the referee felt Minowa needed to be saved (ala Royler Gracie (Pictures)) and called a halt to the bout.
Last February Minowa made his Cage Rage debut in England. He faced British strongman Dave Legeno (Pictures) and submitted him early in the first round with an Achilles lock. Minowa earned his way into the Absolute GP by defeating Paulo Cesar Silva (Pictures) by TKO in the first round at Bushido 10.
MY PICK: Filipovic. I know Minowa has a huge heart and has wanted this particular match-up since “Cro Cop” first started fighting MMA but I think his chances would’ve been better in ’01 than now. From their sizes (5-9, 185lbs to 6-2, 215lbs) to their skills, this should be a relatively easy win for “Cro Cop.” The bout with Hunt was likely a huge set back for Mirko mentally but this is an opportunity to get back in the chase for a title. With this field of athletes, virtually anyone can win and anyone can lose but he scored a very winnable draw getting Minowa in the opening round. The one thing you can bet the house on is that Minowa will go down swinging. Filipovic by TKO in the second round.
Mirko trains with Rodrigo Artilheiro, Fabricio Werdum (Pictures), Igor Kolakusic, Igor Pokrajac and the rest of the Cro Cop Squad Gym. He has a 40-5 amateur and 12-5 professional boxing record as well as a 17-4-2 record in MMA.
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The rules for the Silva bout were in Filipovic’s favor as there were quick stand ups but Silva would’ve won easily had it been under full MMA rules.
The PRIDE: Shockwave 2002 show saw Filipovic take on legend
Kazushi Sakuraba
(Pictures) under full PFC rules and a
broken orbital bone called a halt to the match for Sakuraba in the
second round. Mirko beat Fujita again in a boring rematch and faced
top heavyweight contender Heath
Herring (Pictures) at PRIDE 26. Herring looked
overwhelmed and was stopped with strikes in the first round.
Filipovic went on a 4-1 run knocking out MMA legend Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures), UFC veteran Ron Waterman (Pictures), RINGS veteran Yoshihisa Yamamoto (Pictures) and Mexican wrestler Dos Caras Jr. (Pictures) His only loss was to Rodrigo Nogueira at the PRIDE Final Conflict show. Mirko fought well in the first round but was submitted in the second and lost his chance to claim the PFC interim heavyweight championship title.
He fought Kevin Randleman (Pictures) in the opening round of the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament and was knocked out by the wrestler. An unimpressive decision win over Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) was followed with a pair of consecutive knockouts over Shungo Oyama (Pictures) and Aleksander Emeliananko.
Mirko scored a freak submission win over Josh Barnett (Pictures) at PRIDE 28 and at last New Year’s Eve show, Filipovic exacted his revenge over Randleman, submitting the wrestler via guillotine choke early in the first round.
Riding high on the strength of five straight victories (two by KO), Mirko knocked out former UFC and PFC champion Mark Coleman (Pictures) in the first round at PRIDE 29. Moving a step closer to a showdown with heavyweight champ Fedor, Mirko stopped his Red Devil teammate Ibragim Magomedov (Pictures) with a kick to the body at Critical Countdown ’05.
The stage was set for the bout we all wanted to see but despite an improved all-around game, Filipovic could not beat the champion. Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) retained his title via unanimous decision at Final Conflict ’05 and answered a lot of questions with his performance. Mirko defeated “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett in the rematch by unanimous decision and showed that, although not ready to dethrone the champion, he belongs at the top of the division.
His most recent appearance was at the PRIDE Shockwave ’05 show where he lost a decision to kickboxer Mark Hunt (Pictures).
MINOWA: Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) is a submission wrestler and a 2nd Dan in judo with a record of 32-23-8 in MMA. “The Punk” is the 1999 Neo Blood Tournament Champion, the 1997 CMA/KPW Tournament Champion and the 1997 Complete Fighting Championship. He has trained at the PANCRASEism Gym, with Brazilian Top Team and in Korea and Thailand.
Ikuhisa began fighting MMA in 1996, competing in the Lumax Cup (like judo but with gloves and striking). He began his six-year stint with the Pancrase organization in ’97 and fought many well known MMA veterans: Yuki Kondo (Pictures) (lost by submission), Kousei Kubota (Pictures) (draw/draw/decision win), Jason Delucia (Pictures) (lost by submission/lost by decision), Adrian Serrano (Pictures) (won on points/won by submission), Evan Tanner (Pictures) (lost by submission), Travis Fulton (draw), Daiju Takase (Pictures) (won by submission), Semmy Schilt (Pictures) (lost by decision), Chris Lytle (Pictures) (draw), Brian Gassaway (Pictures) (won by submission), Keiichiro Yamamiya (Pictures) (lost by decision), Paulo Filho (Pictures) (lost by decision), Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) (won by submission/won by decision), Sanae Kikuta (Pictures) (loss by cut) and Ricardo Almeida (Pictures) (lost by decision).
He last fought in the UFC when it came to Japan in 2000 and beat Joe Slick by cut stoppage at UFC 25.
Minowa made his PFC debut at ‘03 Shockwave show against Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and though he fought well in the first round, he was pounded with strikes early in the second. At PRIDE Bushido 2, he went toe-to-toe with Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) and lasted just over a minute.
Ikuhisa clearly beat Ryan Gracie at PRIDE Bushido 3 but lost a split decision. In that bout, Gracie started strong but faded and Minowa saw his opportunity and ran with it. And though he finished the match strong, the fact of the matter was he’s lost three in a row and four out of five bouts. Rebounding like a champion, Minowa went on to win five in a row, including a victory at the Korean-promoted Gladiator Fighting Championships and three straight victories in PRIDE Bushido.
He beat UFC veteran Kenichi Yamamoto (Pictures) with strikes at Bushido 4 and won a split decision over U-File Camp fighter Ryuki Ueyama (Pictures) at Bushido 5. At the ’04 Shockwave show, Minowa stopped K-1 stud Stefan Leko (Pictures) in less than 30 seconds and submitted Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) at PRIDE Bushido 6 in just over a minute.
Then he ran into the “New York Bad Ass.” Phil Baroni (Pictures) made his PFC debut at PRIDE Bushido 7 and Minowa dominated much of the first round. Early in the second, Minowa opted to trade with the brawler and paid for his decision, falling to a series of strikes and stomps.
Minowa next faced UFC veteran Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) at PRIDE Bushido 8 won via decision. He went on to defeat Baroni in the rematch during quarterfinals of the Bushido tournament but lost to former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) late in the first round.
Minowa fought in his third consecutive Shockwave show in ’05. This time the “powers that be” matched him against Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures). In Japan the bout was considered a marquee match-up and the pair fought nearly the entire first round. When Sakuraba secured a Kimura arm lock and in the final seconds of the round the referee felt Minowa needed to be saved (ala Royler Gracie (Pictures)) and called a halt to the bout.
Last February Minowa made his Cage Rage debut in England. He faced British strongman Dave Legeno (Pictures) and submitted him early in the first round with an Achilles lock. Minowa earned his way into the Absolute GP by defeating Paulo Cesar Silva (Pictures) by TKO in the first round at Bushido 10.
MY PICK: Filipovic. I know Minowa has a huge heart and has wanted this particular match-up since “Cro Cop” first started fighting MMA but I think his chances would’ve been better in ’01 than now. From their sizes (5-9, 185lbs to 6-2, 215lbs) to their skills, this should be a relatively easy win for “Cro Cop.” The bout with Hunt was likely a huge set back for Mirko mentally but this is an opportunity to get back in the chase for a title. With this field of athletes, virtually anyone can win and anyone can lose but he scored a very winnable draw getting Minowa in the opening round. The one thing you can bet the house on is that Minowa will go down swinging. Filipovic by TKO in the second round.
