What do you like the most about Cro Cop? Cro Cop vs Bob Sapp is one of the most epic size vs skill fights of all time. Why? Because the history behind their match is as historic as it comes. Coming off 2 epic victories against Ernesto Hoost, the greatest heavyweight kickboxer of all time, Bob Sapp was just running through MMA fighters and kickboxers. No one wanted to fight him after he beat Ernesto Hoost twice, only Cro Cop stepped up to the challenge. Cro Cop said he didn't have a game plan, but he clearly showed a brilliant game plan here. Do you know what strategy he used to defeat this monster fighter? SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE LEGENDARY STRIKING Free Legendary Strategies: www.lawrencekenshin.com

@Matheusss89

Жыл бұрын

Everyone i knew who watched fights was a big fan of Crocop. His high kicks went beyond technique to an art form. I just wish Sapp took the game more seriously too. He was mostly taking paychecks and didn't care after a certain point anymore. Would be fun as hell to see how the best fighters back then dealt with a serious Sapp going berserk on them.

@cellardoor9882

Жыл бұрын

@@Matheusss89 Sapp fought cro cop after 2 wins against hoost. He fought for paychecks way after his fight with cro cop, in this fight he was the real deal, all jacked and shit .cro cop just made it look easy

@PHATT_TV

Жыл бұрын

Lawrence the 🐐

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

@@PHATT_TV thank you for the support

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

@@cellardoor9882 cro cop was the perfect fighter to fight sapp

Cro Cop was just another level. End of game boss. Never seen anyone with head kicks like him. Legend

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Wish more ppl knew about him next

@taraishot100

Жыл бұрын

Bro everyone had mean head kicks back in that K-1 era Cro Cop, Ernesto, Peter Aerts, Andy Hug, Bahdar Hari, Remy Bonjaski, Jerome Lebanar etc

@kenn1ld676

Жыл бұрын

Fedor Emelianenko were even better.

@Aglassact77

Жыл бұрын

Ramon Dekkers is the Goat though , for any kind of kick boxing/ mui-tai …

Not sure if it's my impression or MMA fans don't give as much respect to past legends as boxing fans do. Guys like Crocop deserve much more love. Dude was legit scary, so much so everyone always said the "right leg hospital, left leg cemetary" back then. BTW that ice bath clip must be him trolling. He was known as a massive joker and prankster as you can see from the Mauro clip. hahah

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

You’re right, people don’t give mma legends, kickboxing legends and Muay Thai legends the same respect they do for boxing legends. It’s sad, but I’m doing my part here

@curgunner

Жыл бұрын

MMA has advanced so much in such a short period of time the greats of even the recent past aren’t as impressive as the guys currently out fighting.

@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski

Жыл бұрын

It's not MMA fans it's casual UFC fans. old Pride FC fans like me adore all the old legends even if they've lost their luster in modern times. they're all still legends to me. Muay Thai too, for instance Kaoklai has lost to Tyrone Sponge and Joe Schilling, if you look those fights up on KZread, in the comments, casual Muay Thai fans dump on Kaoklai for being a Thai boxer losing to farangs. (you'll also see me there waging verbal war against those assholes for dumping on the legendary giant slayer) casual fans don't get that every strike landed, blocked or not, hurts and takes a just a little bit. legendary fighters have had legendary fights most likely meaning they fought dangerous people and took some hits that would kill the armchair fighter. It adds up overtime.

@austin3789

Жыл бұрын

I think its UFC fans especially every since Dana White has been on board. Everything outside the UFC is subpar. Every quasi-dominant champion is declared to be the greatest of all time. It's just a great diminishment of so many fighters that have gone before.

@actionman4520

Жыл бұрын

@@LawrenceKenshin and you have our respect for that.

Cro Cop was electrifying in those years. So fun to watch. Those who only saw the UFC portion of his career have no clue.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

yes many people forget the timeline in history matters a lot. there was a time that he was the francis ngannou

@f5tornadeau

Жыл бұрын

Pride was epic. I miss those days.

Crocop got me into Combat Sports and he will forever hold a special place in my heart for it.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

one of the main guys for me too

@mickylawless1941

Жыл бұрын

@@LawrenceKenshin I, too, look to Cro Cop as being one of the very best EVER!

@justinbarnett9476

Жыл бұрын

Crocop as well as Wanderlei in Pride got me into mma. I’d never seen such exciting fighters before and I loved the Pride rules.

@user-xj3ve7wt8k

Жыл бұрын

Same.

@theswede5402

Жыл бұрын

What style would you recommend for someone wanting to get into MMA? Im a total rookie but feel very inspired after watching crocop and fedor.

i still remember watching this fight with friends back then, we had only seen a few K-1 fights before and just seeing sapp entering the arena was so bizarre, the guy was so big it was insane. no need to say after the fight we all were cro cop fans

Wanderlei Silva was never the same after his last Pride fight with Cro Cop either. The head kick that split him open was savage

The thing that made Mirco so fun to watch was his kick. The thing that made him a legend, was his sprawl. You just couldn't take him down and if you did, couldn't keep him down.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Yes his sprawl was awesome.

What you did not mention is Crocop's enourmous physical strengh, Sap simply could not manhandle him. Even Schaub when asked who the strongest mma fighter was he ever fought he just said Crocop, bar none.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Yup he was super strong!

@user-wr1om9gl8o

Жыл бұрын

Yeh but schaubs name shouldn't be said when speaking of cro cop.

@mariodrv

Жыл бұрын

@@user-wr1om9gl8o Watch what Schaub said after the fight and in interviews.

@user-wr1om9gl8o

Жыл бұрын

@@mariodrv I have buddy. Lol I have no doubts about how strong cro cop was. Scary as a son of a bitch .I was more just firing a shot at schaub cause he's such a goof.

@mariodrv

Жыл бұрын

@@user-wr1om9gl8o I know ;)

Thanks for putting this in to perspective. I've seen these fights so many times over the years but it's easy to forget that Bob Sapp was taken seriously as a fighter in those days.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thank you so much for watching.

@Rando1975

Жыл бұрын

I've always wondered what Sapp could have done if he trained seriously. He got so big (popularity wise), so fast, I don't think he had time to seriously dedicate himself to training. He was doing too much promotion and too many fights in a short time.

For me, the best legendary fight was Crocop vs Fedor! 2 heavyweights technicians and tactician master. Magical!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

yes that was a brilliant fight

@Rabeea09

Жыл бұрын

@@LawrenceKenshin would be great to see a breakdown of that fight .. your content is great.. keep it up 👍

@ReisterJP

Жыл бұрын

Prime Fedor was amazing.

Bob Sapp when on to say that the reason he threw so many fights is that getting injured just wasn't worth it. He gets paid win or lose. Pretty sure he learned that lesson here.

To fight a much bigger opponent you need a degree of power that will keep him off you. Hoost didnt have that, Cro Cop did. 9:11 is a perfect example. Cro Cop is considered one of the strongest kickboxers of all time, he shoves Bob away here from the clinch, Ernesto couldnt and got smothered. Also against a monster like Sapp you have to focus on evading for the first two minutes, he will tire quickly and be a totally different fighter after his first efforts.

@kingkazuma2239

Жыл бұрын

Hoost was very technical and precise. Kept his opponents at a distance and threw precise leg kicks and liver shots. Cro crop is the same but just has way more power behind each strike

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

great point, cro cop does a ton of strength training

@AnaamSings

Жыл бұрын

excellent comment

@sidlukkassen9687

Жыл бұрын

What I remember, Hoost was doing well technically and actually ahead in points and damage. Then Sapp got into his mind and Hoost entered a punching exchange, then lost because of that.

That footage of the Cro-cop ice bath is fantastic. I have never seen it before and may be one of my favorite things now. He sounds like Beaker the lab assistant Muppet. Also he's one of the greatest.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

hahahaa so good

@KY_100

Жыл бұрын

He was joking of course

@DoDo-lf2gw

Жыл бұрын

The funniest part for me was when someone told him that the little footballers can last over 2 mins in the cold water,so he got in and said he is going to sleep in it😂

No one can compare now in MMA with such punches as Cro Cop's

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

true

@jw999

Жыл бұрын

Francis Ngannou??!!

@Black-bk4xf

Жыл бұрын

I can name a few, ngannou, Pereira, Usman, Chandler, gaethje, Emmett, figgy, and prob more

@jfpipe1

Жыл бұрын

Emelianenko beats all the current ones

@jw999

Жыл бұрын

@@jfpipe1 possible but he's too small compared to current heavy weights.

This is what I love about old school MMA and kickboxing. Open weight bouts just showing size vs skill

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

there will never be bouts like this ever again!

I will admit that Cro Cop was one of the most exciting fighters to watch of all time. It was always stand-up action and not so much of the holding and on the ground action. And the single devastating strike could happen at any time, when least expected. Usually some kind of strike versus some kind of submission.

Cro Cop is my favorite fighter of all time. Power in all four limbs. Thanks for a great breakdown.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thanks so much dave!

CroCop is the last K-1 Champion LEGEND

Cro Cop fights were highly anticipated excitement back in the day. I remember how sad it was when he decided to retire. Long live Cro Crop!!

This is a great video, brilliant editing and excellent commentary, Thank you for taking the time to do this!

I think what really cemented cro cop’s legacy was how he ended. Obviously he fought and beat some of the best in the world in his prime, but eventually the heavyweight division caught up to those guys in skill, and he got absolutely run out of the octagon a couple times. Most guys hang it up at that point. Not him. He went back to the drawing board. He came back, avenged his loss to gonzaga in brutal fashion, wooped king mo for his first loss as a heavyweight en route to a rizin grand prix championship, and ended avenging his loss to big country despite doctors forbidding him to fight. This guy was truly one of the greats. Not just for his accomplishments in his prime in pride, but for withstanding the test of time and a career spanning multiple eras of the heavyweight division.

Never thought much of SAPP.. It speaks poorly of the MMA rules that he was not disqualified for the back-of-the-head shots and raging on people even after they're down and out. He should have been suspended. In contrast, Mirko was a class act. Skill, power, speed, no trash talking, and he strived to play by the rules. He and Fedor were exemplary of how to win and remain civil.

OMG, Lawrence, I am obsessed by this fight and your channel is my favorite, when the subject is fighting... Thank you a lot!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

much love pedro

Excellent video structure, narration and flow. Very well put together.

That left cross has to be one of the most legendary punches of all time

Love your breakdowns Lawrence. Thank you for making one about CroCop. Keep doing your great work. Cheers from Croatia :)

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

❤️❤️

Mirko Cro cop is a Legend one of my all time favorite fighters..love the Igor and Silva knock outs

Cro cop had that legendary saying- Right left hospital, left leg cemetery so wild . Ever since then he was one of my favorite fighters.

Yeah I love his swing kick where he hits you with the foot knuckle of the Ankle bone

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Amazing kicker

@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski

Жыл бұрын

foot knuckle of the ankle bone? do you have that? is it like a club foot?

This fight is literally the turning point in Bob Sapp's career. It went from actually trying to fight and win, to showing up for a sub 3 minute paycheck.

@DefZen343

Жыл бұрын

getting surgery for a broken orbital bone really sucks, i think most people would lose interest in fighting to the limit too 👀 Looks like When he gets hurt he just gives up to avoid damage 😅

@theKashConnoisseur

Жыл бұрын

@@DefZen343 but with all of the growth hormone in Japan, surely Sapp could have breezed through recovery.

Great analysis of a great fight between 2 great fighters!

Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery. - Mirko Cro Cop Legend 👌🏻

Cro Cop is so good, thanks for making a video about him

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thanks so much for watching!

Thank you for another entertaining, insightful video. Rooting for your road to 500K. peace

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much brother

Anytime you kick and made Mark Hunt fall like that.... that's scary.

I have always held a high respect for Mirko. He has tremendous skill and the honor and respect of a truly good human being. Again, thank you for the entertaining and well-informed content.

@jw999

Жыл бұрын

What does killer MMA skill have to do with being a good human?

@mojofingers

Жыл бұрын

@@jw999 please point out where it specifically said fighting skills made him a good human. I said he is a good human with fighting skills. I think you miss understood. Nowhere does it say fighting makes you a good human

@jw999

Жыл бұрын

@@mojofingers So why bring up the "good human" part? What has he done exactly that's so saintly? MMA is a bloody sport where people beat each other up until someone is half-dead. Pretending any of these dude is "good human", "true hero", or "role model" is just pure BS.

@mojofingers

Жыл бұрын

@@jw999 crawl back into your safe space of closed views and easily hurt emotions. You don't belong in the real world.

@jw999

Жыл бұрын

@@mojofingers Chill bro, just gotta face up to your own hypocrisy

Right leg 🏥 , left leg ⚰️

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

🔥🔥

Great commentary and breakdown

Cro Cop was like a machine. I like how overall he does not have a very polished technique, but oh boy he does have strenght and aim. His kicks were top tier though.

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

yes not the most polished technique, but incredible power... superhuman almost

The Fedor-Cro Cop fight was one of the best ever.

great video and commentary!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

👍🏻👍🏻

Cro Cop is another living legend that will never be forgotten

GREAT VIDEO!

Another accurately and enthusiastically told piece of history wonderfully highlighted and described as always, thanks Lawrence Kenshin! You made my fcking day again bro, seriously awesome brother!!!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thanks so much man!

Awesome video, Crocop was always my favourite fighter ever since I first saw him in Pride so many years ago...

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thanks so much tony

Did Sapp start crying when Mirko punched him in the face? That punch was a bullseye for sure.

another amazing vid dude!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thank you!

I love your breakdowns you are the BEST !!!!

Never been a horse That couldn't be rode . Never been a cowboy That couldn't be throwed .

When he beat that giant Dutch dude in the first round I was highly impressed

Excellent breakdown as always ! Have you ever watched LeBanner's fight against Bob Sapp ? First round Kick boxing, second in MMA. Very interesting fight too, hope you'll break it down!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thanks for the suggestion!!

Nice vid. Love the new editing flourishes with highlighting the fists, foot positions and strategies employed. Keep it up, you've really come into your own over the years. Just stay the course and don't over do the edit (your current format is good).

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

thanks so much for the support, means a lot to me

good breakdown of the fight

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much

I'm afraid of savagely disrespecting the spelling of his name for the sake of getting kicked in the face, but when I heard of him fighting terror, I'm a new big Cro fan!

golden era of kickboxing ❤

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

The best era

@LIONTAMER3D

Жыл бұрын

the Japanese knew how to promote mma & kickboxing like no one else: every fight was an epic clash of titans

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

@@LIONTAMER3D really amazing events every single one of them

@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski

Жыл бұрын

K1 MAX when Buakaw teeped masato into obscurity. that's the golden era. it all overlaps.

@isudizzyblud

Жыл бұрын

@@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski k-1's peak in Japan is legit golden era right there

That Sapp guy is dangerously big. Wouldn't mind being a menace like him. And having CroCops lethal blows.

It was really impressive indeed, it was a clever fight, Mirkov positioned himself very well evading the full force and weight of Sapp all the time and was waiting for the perfect time to fight back.

Broke his orbital bone, that’s serious.

Cro Cop will forever be my favourite fighter of all time

man, the bit about him fighting 'the worst of humanity' is darkly funny if you know what cro cop's unit was actually like

@mrwo1fstfu

Жыл бұрын

I'm curious would you elaborate please good sir?

@AKSsasori

Жыл бұрын

@@mrwo1fstfu Crocop's day job at the time was as part of a Croatian anti-terror unit. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C4%8Dko_Anti-Terrorist_Unit

@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812

Жыл бұрын

@@timmasters1195 umm well yes, that is their literal job after all lol.

@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812

Жыл бұрын

@@timmasters1195 especially depending on exactly what type of "special forces" , many parts of the special forces wouldn't even be used outside of missions etc that they atleast technically speaking aren't supposed to be doing/don't want anyone to know they did it and technically "illegal".

@timmasters1195

Жыл бұрын

@@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812 no...their job was to police, their actions were far closer to state sponsored terrorism at times. As I said, read about it for yourself.

Cro Cop is one of my favorites alongside Don Fry ,Rampage and Rashad, Tank Abbot and Kimbo. Diego and Guida. Great fights fought by great people

The swords broke and many weapons were shattered into bits, those warriors who fought, were chopped and ultimately only the king survived.375. One☝👑 CC,,,, fan☝🇮🇳 from India😲

Let’s not forgot how awesome crocops straight left was at keeping distance and countering opponents. Very few fighters were able to possess that.

cro cop made it look so easy, most people thought the fight was fake lol

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

Ya def real fight

Cro cop was a savage legend

Great breakdown... anyone that thinks the Cro Cop they saw in UFC was representative of his real body of work is missing out on an amazing fighter. Ditto Wanderlei and Big Nog. Loved Pride... their scoring system that prioritised efforts to end the fight over positional or ring control made for much better fights.

Beautiful m8 sunscribed

On top of being one of the best he's also a great guy, never seen him disrespectful.

Cro Cop was my favorite fighter to watch. He swung that leg at you like a tree trunk.

The strategy is "The plan is No plan" but in fact "No plan is the plan" and that biggest guy was so self confident to win and he underestimated the scariest guy.

This really shows that the size vs skill debate has way more nuance than people think.

Sapp is still so lovable. And Cro-Cop is still a killer.

Cro cops kicks are as fast and as scary as Mike Tyson's uppercuts. And possibly the best stare down in all of mma.

1:30 Simple, Crocop shattered Bob Sapp's eye socket. While Bob have a reputation to give up early, this time he really was hurt.

People who are bigger tend to have less fear and awareness, and it always gets them humbled sooner or later. I was submitting people almost twice my size as a teenager playing in people's backyards and even submitting some with my hands and kicks. Now I am even better if I had a sparring partner. There is a LOT that goes into fighting, not just skill and size alone.

Ray Sefo had him on the ground to. People underestimate how great Ray Sefo was

Great video 🥳✌️🇭🇷

Cro Cop was no joke.

I remember back then when i watched MMA, Bob Sapp barely ever won any fights.

Off topic: Did you hear there's goin to be a bare knuckle match between Buakaw and Saenchai? Also, can you do one on Alexey Ignashov in his prime?

Buakaw vs Saenchai in BKFC just got announced!!! Are you gonna make a video about it?

i wish Mirko was in his prime in MMA!!!!

I think Ironic is the word Used to describe his last ufc fight he got nailed with his very own signature head kick buy Gonzaga and it was a brutal and upsetting to be waiting for it to happen and it does and it happens to him instead😳. I love crocop he is my fave MMA fighter next to randy Couture I wish they had a rematch between crocop and Gonzaga. CROCOP FOR PRESIDENT!!

Lol, the buzz that Tyson got from that fight, classic!

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

hahaha tyson was hyped

Is it just me or both Mirko and Bob are unrecognizable in the Thumbnail lol 😂😂😂

Beautiful kicks 💋

Do a breakdown of the combat in Ultimate Force

So sad that K1 is no more. They had some enormous monsters - Sapp, Hong Mann Choi, Schilt... Just don't get those enormous size discrepancies in modern fights... Hoost also almost got Sapp - staggered him for a long period with a thigh kick but was too cautious and failed to take advantage...

Can you please break down dustin poirer strange high elbow defense?

Size means very, VERY little in a fight... Royce Gracie proved that when he fought Akebono, a man that outweighed him by nearly 300 pounds

@LawrenceKenshin

Жыл бұрын

That’s when no one has technique in mma

😭😭 Hoost should have taken that first match seriously Cro Cop in the ice bath is hilarious 😂

I had to to stay away till 3 am or something to watch this live on tv. Amazing fight but a little but short. Hehe

Good good vid

NO DISRESPECT TO LEGENDARY DUELIST. THANK FOR THE GREAT SHOW, DARIUS SAMA 👍

Love Cro Cop. Actual elite special forces - No fear in the cage, .But probably a real fun prankster hanging with his family and friends. I would love to chill with him. One day go training at his gym

375 with abs showing. That is a muscular dude.

Mike so excited 😅

Imagine if Sapp had the skill of Tyson.

@Pieces93

Жыл бұрын

He would of been unstoppable in the ring, if he also attained Tyson’s speed and agility, he would of been unbeatable. Still I reckon Tyson would knock Sapp out in first round, as Sapp doesn’t really have any technique or significant skill.

I’d never seen the interview prank. Poor Mauro was shook 😂