UFC 99: Mirko Cro Cop Says This Time He's Ready to Fight in the Octagon

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic stepped into the MMA ring four times in 2006, going 4-0 and winning the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix title. But in 2007, when he moved from the Pride ring to the UFC Octagon, he struggled, going 1-2. Now Cro Cop is getting ready to return to the UFC, and he said on Tuesday that he's much more prepared to make the transition from ring to cage than he was two years ago.

"They are different, definitely," Cro Cop said of transitioning from ring to cage. "I spent my whole career fighting in the ring and then I entered the cage. I must say I underestimated the cage. It's much, much easier to go from the cage to the ring than from the ring to the cage. So I got a cage in my gym."

Cro Cop pointed out that Pride and the UFC had different rules, including the fact that the UFC allows fighters to attack with their elbows while elbows were illegal in Pride. He also noted that it's harder for a fighter to defend himself when he's up against the fence in a cage than it is when he's up against the ropes in a ring.

"Many experienced fighters in the UFC like to use the cage, like to use the (fence), there are elbows," Cro Cop said of the differences between fighting in the ring and the Octagon. "It's not so easy because they push you against the (fence). In the ring you can put your head out of the ropes, the referee will stop the fight and put you in the center of the ring. It's much easier to defend and to escape. If you don't know how to escape, you're in trouble in the cage."

Between MMA and kickboxing, Cro Cop has had dozens of professional fights in rings, but only three in the Octagon. He sounded confident Tuesday that when he steps into the Octagon for the fourth time to face Mostapha Al Turk Saturday at UFC 99, he'll be ready.