Will Cro Cop and Rampage live up to the hype?

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By Michael DiSanto

Mirko “Cro Cop”.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

If those names don’t sound familiar to UFC fans, they will soon enough.

On Saturday night, Cro Cop and Rampage each step into the Octagon for the first time in what arguably constitutes the most highly anticipated debuts in the UFC’s brief history. Hardcore fans are clamoring to see Cro Cop because he is universally recognized as one of the top two heavyweights in the world. Rampage, who happens to be one of the most charismatic figures in the game, is the last man to claim victory over reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell.

Most fans and fight cognoscenti expect the pair to challenge for UFC gold sooner rather than later. After all, fellow international fighting star Anderson Silva won the middleweight championship in his only his second fight after coming to the United States.

But success overseas, and both Cro Cop and Rampage posses international fighting resumes equal or superior to that of Silva’s, don’t necessarily translate to success inside the Octagon.

Just ask Heath Herring.

After seven successful years competing as one of the top heavyweights in Japan, Herring received a rude Octagon welcome, dropping a one-sided loss to relative unknown Jake O’Brien at UFC Fight Night 8 last week.

What must Cro Cop and Rampage do to avoid suffering a similar fate?

For Cro Cop, the key is to stay away from the cage—period. If he does that, then he will be just fine against Eddie Sanchez.

While that may sound like a disrespectful comment toward the undefeated Sanchez, it is the reality of the situation. Barring a homerun punch that lands on the button, a very real possibility in any mixed martial arts fight, Sanchez has about as much chance outstriking Cro Cop as a fish does walking down Madison Avenue.

Although Sanchez has an overhand right that demands respect, Cro Cop is at the top of the food chain as far as mixed martial arts strikers are concerned. And his resume proves it.

Prior to making his foray into MMA, Cro Cop competed for seven years in K-1, the world’s premier promotion for standup fighting, where he defeated world champions Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky and Mark Hunt, among others with a combination of quick, straight punching and kicks that sound like Barry Bonds homeruns.

But fans know all too well that one-dimensional fighters do not make it to the top in MMA. Cro Cop received a painful reminder of that fact in 2003 when he suffered his first professional MMA loss to former Pride champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by armbar in a fight that he was dominating up to that point.

Since that loss, Cro Cop has developed into one of the very best heavyweights in the world by turning his impressive reflexes into a Chuck Liddell-like sprawl and learning the ins and outs of submission grappling. He used those newly developed skills to win the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix, defeating reigning Pride 205-pound champion Wanderlei Silva, Olympic Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett in the process.

Actually, he didn’t just beat the aforementioned men. Cro Cop brutally knocked out each of them in the first round with a deadly blend of pinpoint punching, crippling kicks to the body and legs, and the single-most devastating knockout weapon across all combat sports—his left-leg high kick.

Sanchez will certainly suffer a similar fate if he makes the mistake of standing in front of Cro Cop for more than a few fleeting seconds.

But no man is perfect. No fighter is unbeatable. Cro Cop certainly isn’t the exception, either.

If the former Croatian anti-terrorist commando has any weakness, it is dealing with intense pressure. His sprawl and brawl is amazing, so the pressure must come in the form of charging punches—a move that could result in the much coveted clinch against the cage or the quickest route to a lullaby.

Sanchez, therefore, must explode out of his corner like a bat out of Hell, rushing across the cage with both guns ablaze. As mentioned, he may very well find himself on the wrong end of a vicious knockout when he gets within striking range. Then again, Cro Cop may not have time to set his feet and hips to explode into one of his fearsome kicks or punches. If not, his tendency is to retreat straight back with a step or two before circling out to his right, which gives Sanchez a very real opportunity tie up his elite foe, pin him against the cage and work tirelessly for a takedown.

If Sanchez can keep Cro Cop against the fence or put him on the canvas and keep him there, then his odds of winning increase dramatically. Otherwise, he will almost certainly suffer the most brutal knockout loss of the evening.

Although Rampage faces an accomplished wrestler on Saturday, he does not need to worry about his opponent rushing with the hopes of securing a takedown. Instead, he needs to keep his hands up and defend against a Hail Mary punch from one of the most explosive guys in the division.

Marvin Eastman loves to stand and throw hands with his opponents, despite his solid amateur wrestling background. The five-feet-nine fireplug is blessed with an insane percentage of fast-twitch muscle, which gives him an advantage in hand speed against most opponents. He prefers to use that hand speed to search for the knockout via leaping left hooks and big overhand rights, particularly when facing taller opponents like the six-foot-two Rampage.

All that fits quite well with Rampage’s strengths—sort of. He loves trading blows with guys on the feet, and he carries enough dynamite in his fists and concrete in his chin to make most guys pay badly for such exchanges, including Eastman. But his true comfort zone is when the fight evolves into a Greco-Roman wrestling match on the feet.

Once Rampage is in a clinch, his amazing physical strength and solid wrestling base allows him to pick up most opponents like a 10-pound sack of potatoes and violently slam them to the mat en route to a ground-and-pound thrashing. Rampage is far from a ground specialist, but his mix of wrestling and ground-and-pound give him a distinct advantage over Eastman once the fight hits the canvas.

Just like with Cro Cop, however, Rampage has a very real weakness when dealing with intense pressure. He tends to defend punches by momentarily covering his head and trying to catch the blows with his forearms and elbows (an exceedingly difficult manner of defending punches) before shooting for a takedown or closing the gap for a clinch.

In those few seconds when he evolves from a boxer throwing punches to a wrestler looking for a takedown or clinch, Rampage is vulnerable because he is susceptible to getting hit with big shots to the head and body. That was his downfall in his last few losses.

Eastman, therefore, needs to put pressure on Jackson to get him to cover up. Then, Eastman needs to exploit that weakness in Rampage’s game by unloading everything in his arsenal in search of a knockout.

If Eastman cannot force Rampage to cover up and play punching bag, then he is in for a long, long night.

Will Cro Cop and Rampage live up to the massive hype generated by hardcore fans?

Will Cro Cop come in and dominate the heavyweight division ala a young Mike Tyson, winning and defending the belt along the way?

Will Rampage Jackson win over fans with his amazing athleticism and hilarious soundbites before snatching the title away from Liddell?

We will all find out the answers to those questions soon enough, as Cro Cop and Rampage both begin their UFC campaigns Saturday night at UFC 67. Fans watching at the Mandalay Bay Event Center or tuning in for the high definition pay per view broadcast are in for a very real treat.

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