Mirko Cro Cop has been forced out of his co-main event bout with Anthony Hamilton at UFC Fight Night 79 in Seoul, South Korea later this month.
Cro Cop confirmed the news on his Facebook page on Monday evening.
“I tried to save my shoulder injury and repair in all possible ways. Daily therapies, injections of blood plasma and various cocktails of drugs,” he said, regarding the injury (all quotes are rough translations). “[Because of] daily training, the injury only worsened. Part of my muscle snapped, my shoulder has a lot of fluid, and the greatest danger is that the tendon ruptured, and then again in the operation.”
There has been no word as of now whether or not a replacement will be found for Cro Cop.
Cro Cop (31-11-2, 1 NC) recently made a return to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 64 in Krakow, Poland in a rematch against Gabriel Gonzaga. He got revenge against the Brazilian, picking up a TKO victory.
After getting knocked out by Todd Duffee last year, Hamilton (14-4) got back into the winning column earlier this year with a lackluster decision win over Daniel Omielanczuk. “Freight Train” is 2-2 in the UFC, which also includes a TKO over Ruan Potts and a debut loss to Oleksiy Oliynyk.
It doesn’t look like Cro Cop will be rescheduled to fight a new opponent anytime soon. He is heavily considering retiring from the sport he’s been apart of for over a decade. He has realized the constant injuries are taking a toll on his body and it’s time for him to step away.
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“I am aware that I have come to the end of my martial arts career. [My body has had] nine operations and has become prone to injury,” he stated. “My next fight would have been my eightieth and that is a lot. Especially in these competitions: K-1, Pride, IGF and UFC.”
Cro Cop pointed out that he will miss training greatly, but not necessarily the amount he has recently trained while preparing for upcoming competition.
“The biggest problem will be my adaptation to the ‘civilian’ life. No two workouts a day and the eternal journey around the world, which won’t be tough on me. I train while I’m alive because it is my life but not at this rate and I am glad in a way.
“This is not an immediate decision because I’m unhappy doing all this, but my final decision. And it is best for me. Sooner or later the time comes when one must think about their health. I had a really long and rich career and I believe I left a deep mark in martial arts.”
UPDATE at 11:16 AM ET on Tuesday: Cro Cop has confirmed on his official website that he is retiring from MMA again.
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