Cro Cop Brings In Top Ranked Heavyweight To Prepare For Gonzaga

As Mirko Cro Cop prepares for his return to the UFC on April 11th in Poland against Gabriel Gonzaga, he isn’t taking any chances when it comes to training with the best.

Cro Cop is reluctant to leave Croatia to train, as he wants to be near his wife and children, however he has enlisted the help of top ranked UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic for his training camp.

He spoke to MMAFighting:

“I was always managing to have either top jiu-jitsu fighters or top kick boxers. I never in my life prepared myself for a fight with a complete MMA fighter and a top one, especially a top one. That’s the key. Sparring is the key. You need to spar with complete MMA fighters.”

“The kickboxer doesn’t know how to take me down. The jiu-jitsu fighter doesn’t know how to punch me on the ground. I need a complete fighter who knows how to throw elbows on the ground, who knows how to do ground and pound. All those things are very important in an MMA fight.”

“There is huge benefits to training at a big camp, to have an opportunity to change sparring partners. It’s just not an option for me. I just can’t go out of Croatia.”