Mirko Cro Cop is one of the most legendary fighters in the world of mixed martial arts. He was best known for his devastating left-head kick, which has earned him multiple knockouts. Furthermore, the stoic Croatian fighter was considered to be the top heavyweight kickboxer during his prime. However, apart from his serious demeanor, he also has a funny side, which was exposed to the public during his conversation with Ariel Helwani.
During a UFC press conference, there was a visibly huge gash on the forehead of Cro Cop, which forced Ariel to ask about it. “Yesterday, I don’t remember seeing that mark on your forehead; where did that come from?” asked Ariel. Furthermore, Mirko had the most unexpected reply to this question from the MMA journalist.
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“That’s a delicate question, I had late training in my room so few ladies came and they make scratched,” said Mirko. Furthermore, this reaction got a very loud reaction from the crowd. However, the legendary kickboxer wasn’t done yet.
When Helwani asked him if he was okay, Cro Cop served up a verbal high kick on the journalist. “No, I’m okay but they are not,” said Cro Cop. This was quite unexpected coming from a stoic fighter like Cro Cop. However, this is not the first time that he has shown his fun side to the world.
Mirko Cro Cop scares an interviewer to death with a prank
Before joining the UFC, Cro Cop was a dominant force in the Japanese promotion Pride FC. During his stint in the promotion, he had some amazing matches and also won the 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix championship. Around 2004, Cro Cop and retired MMA legend Bas Rutten decided to play a prank on renowned commentator and interviewer Mauro Ranallo.
While Mauro was interviewing Cro Cop backstage, he got very angry at the interviewer for criticizing him. “I didn’t like it you was commentating on my grappling skills,” said Cro Cop. However, it was not Mauro but a commentator called Perry who was the actual culprit.
Furthermore, Mauro tried to defend himself by saying it was not me, but since this was a prank orchestrated by Bas Rutten and the team, they claimed that it was Ranallo. After that, the kickboxing legend stood up and said that he didn’t want to speak anymore. As Mauro went outside, Bas sent him back to Cro Cop again.
This led to Cro Cop standing up and forcing a scared Mauro Ranallo out of the room before revealing the prank. Furthermore, when one of his teammates asked Mauro if he was scared, he had a legitimate response. “Of course I was, he’s Mirko Cro Cop,” said Ranallo.
However, in a 2016 interview with MMA Mania, Ranallo said that he was honored to be punked by Mirko Cro Cop. Furthermore, he believes that the viral clip helped Cro Cop’s popularity since it showed a different side of him to the public. What do you think of Mirko Cro Cop’s pranking skills? Let us know in the comments below.