Croatian fighter Mirko Filipovic (42), more commonly known as “Cro Crop”, has advanced to the semifinals of the Rizin Grand Prix in Japan.
In the quarterfinals, Cro Cop defeated 35 year old American MMA fighter Muhammed Lawal (“King Mo”) by a technical knockout in the second round, reports Vecernji List on December 29, 2016.
The American was more active in the first round over Mirko and had a slight advantage by the referee. But in the second round, Mirko Cro Cop escaped demolition with his great boxing techniques to break King Mo.
Mirko's rival in the semifinals will be the Estonian giant Baruto Kaito who won against Tsuyoshi Kosaka. The semifinals will take place on New Year's Eve.
In the second semifinal will fight Russian Valentin Moldavsky and Iranian Amir Aliakbari.
The Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF) is a Japanese regional mixed martial arts organization that was created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championship president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
The Rizin Grand World Prix, put on by the Rizin Fighting Federation, began on September 25 in Tokyo for a 16-man openweight tournament.
