IGF is really bringing the nostalgia on their NYE event. First it was Shinya Aoki who landed a twister then flipped off the double birds, and on the headliner, it was Mirko Cro Cop, dusting off his vaunted left high kick en-route to a winning the title bout against Satoshi Ishii.
‘Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery’ was the mantra during Cro Cop’s glory years, and while the 40-year-old has seen better days, he’s still showing flashes of brilliance.
In a rematch of their August bout that ended up with with a doctor’s stoppage due to a cut, Ishii looked to push the pace on the opening rounds to try and reverse the outcome. The Olympic Gold Medalist scored with takedowns and landed some decent ground strikes early, until things turned around late in the second. Mirko started landing more solid punches on the feet and he eventually threw and landed his trademark left head kick.
The kick completely stunned Ishii, and he followed up with a few more punches. The bell rang during the final sequence, but the Japanese fighter was done and Mirko Filipovic ended his year in vintage fashion. Watch the clip below courtesy of Grabaka Hitman:
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