On this day in 2004, the upset and knockout of the year took place in the same fight at Saitama in Japan.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has had a front row seat to watch all of the legends and pioneers help shape mixed martial arts into what it is today.
An iconic fighter who helped define the sport is one of the MMA historian’s favorite names to look back on with Rogan singing the praises of Mirko Cro Cop when reflecting on his fight with Brendan Schaub.
The dangerous striker produced some incredible highlights during his career but he was on the opposite end of some devastating defeats also.
Along with his loss to Gabriel Gonzaga where Cro Cop was finished by his own signature move, another one of the Croatian’s most memorable setbacks came in the opening round of PRIDE’s 2004 heavyweight Grand Prix.
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Kevin Randleman smashed Mirko Cro Cop in two minutes for the upset of the year on this day in 2004
By 2004, Mirko Cro Cop was already an icon in the combat sports world thanks to signature wins against the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba and Igor Vovchanchyn.
His only loss had come to Antonio Nogueira at the time as the Croatian looked to enter PRIDE’s 2004 Grand Prix which also featured the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Mark Coleman.
Cro Cop’s first opponent would be Kevin Randleman who previously held and defended the UFC heavyweight title before losing it to Randy Couture at UFC 28.
He signed to PRIDE in 2002 where a three-fight win streak was brought to an end by back-to-back losses to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Sakuraba.
As a result, the American was a huge underdog coming into his bout with Cro Cop, who was one of the favorites to come out on top, but Randleman clearly didn’t read the script ahead of PRIDE Elimination 2004.
The wresting specialist immediately closed the distance to grab hold of his opponent but when they broke from the grappling exchange, he detonated a huge left hand to drop the feared striker.
From here, Cro Cop was in big trouble and it was only a matter of time before a series of thumping right hands from the top position bounced his head off of the canvas with ‘The Monster’ shocking the world in just under two minutes.
Kevin Randleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame several years after he passed away
Mirko Cro Cop would go on to avenge his loss later that year with Kevin Randleman only fighting eight more times after 2004.
Having competed for the last time in 2011, ending his career with a record of 17-16, ‘The Monster’ sadly passed away five years later when he was just 44-years-old.
Randleman was later inducted into the pioneer wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020 with an emotional speech from his former teammate and fellow member Mark Coleman.
Mirko Cro Cop is yet to join the Hall of Fame alongside many of his great opponents but it’s hard to imagine the Croatian icon not having his name called in the coming years.