Randy Harrison
Earlier today, Nokaut.com hooked up with Mirko Cro Cop, who was released from the hospital few days ago. The knee surgery was very successful and we could be seeing Mirko in the ring again in time for DREAM 6 in September. Mirko took the time to talk with us about his surgery, his return, the Affliction: Banned card and many other topics.
Nokaut: So how the surgery went through?
Mirko: I'm satisfied with the result, they have removed all scattered pieces of the broken menisk. This is something that had to be done earlier this year but I kept postponing it since I didn't want to skip my fights in DREAM. However, it's all history now and let's focus on future.
Nokaut: What's next for you, you are taking some time to recover right?
Mirko: I'm heading to Pula and I'll be there for two weeks. I already resumed my trainings and I'm back to my feet, although it'll take some time for my knee to heel completely.
Nokaut: So we can expect to see you back in action on September 23? I guess you can't share more details with us at this point?
Mirko: Yes, I can only confirm that I'm going to fight in September. I really don't want to sit on the bench and watch others play. I want to be back in action as soon as possible and I want to end this year with success.
Nokaut: You can read all over the Internet that there are many people who are not actually convinced in another big comeback.
Mirko: Well, you can read funny things online. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Nokaut: Are you still comfortable with your DREAM contract? It seems that DREAM is not able to put up a strong heavyweight match-up, which takes you out of the big picture at the moment?
Mirko: I'm 100% confident that DREAM was a right choice for me. They are just starting up, if you take other big promotions you'll see that it took some time for them also to put together a strong line-up. I understand that DREAM is now focused on the tournaments and when the finals are done the heavyweights will get more attention.
Nokaut: Speaking about the promotions, there's a new player in the field – Affliction. The card of the year award is in their hands as of now. What are your thoughts on them?
Mirko: All I can say is that the line-up really looks good.
Nokaut: Let's break this fightcard up a little. Of course, we start with the long awaited main event Fedor Emelianenko vs Tim Sylvia.
Mirko: A tough call. Yes I know, Fedor is a huge favourite in this one almost for everyone, but I see him having a hard time out there. It's not easy to fight Tim, he's big and he's using his reach advantage very well. Just look at how good he did against Minotauro, before getting submitted. We don't have to spend words on Fedor, he's a great fighter. Let's say that I see Fedor taking the decision, but it won't be an easy fight for sure.
Nokaut: Josh Barnett vs Pedro Rizzo?
Mirko: I fought Josh three times and I can say that he's really tough. He also seems to be in a very good shape lately, so I see him taking this one without going the distance.
Nokaut: Andrei Arlovski vs Ben Rothwell?
Mirko: To be honest, I don't know much about Ben. This is MMA and everyone has a chance, that's the beauty of it. However, Arlovski is a very good striker and he's considered one of the top heavyweights in the world, while his opponent has yet to earn this status.
Nokaut: Mirko Cro Cop vs everyone else?
Mirko: Mirko by knockout (laughs). Let's just hope that I'll be back on track soon and I hope that fans will enjoy in top quality heavyweight match-ups in DREAM soon.
Nokaut: Thank you for your time and good luck with your recovery!
Mirko: Thank you and huge thank you to all my fans for their support.
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