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Cro Cop ready to kick for the first time since surgery

Mirko Cro Cop has been hesistant in throwing a head kick © Getty Images

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Mirko Cro Cop claims he is 100 percent fit for the first time since returning to the UFC, which means he is ready to start throwing his trademark head kicks at UFC 115 opponent Pat Barry.

Cro Cop has been largely underwhelming since returning to the Octagon a year ago, beating Mostapha Al-Turk and Anthony Perosh either side of a devastating loss at the hands of Junior Dos Santos.

In his day, the former Croatian military man was one of the most feared fighters in MMA, beating the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett and Mark Coleman. His head kick became legendary, famously knocking out Silva in 2006.

However, having previously struggled to adjust to the UFC Octagon, losing bouts against Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo, Cro Cop then suffered a serious knee injury that required three separate operations. He pinpoints the surgery as the reason for his tepid form upon resumption of his career, admitting he has not felt confident enough to throw a kick until now.

"I don't think my standup has changed," stated the Croatian. "Thank God, finally I have recovered completely because I had a very bad injury two years ago. My leg was broken and the knee was completely broken.

"I had three surgeries for the knee and of course it reflected on my kicking. I was afraid to kick - it was still very fresh. But I decided to take the risk for the Cologne fight (against Al-Turk) one year ago.

"The wound was still fresh. It was only less than six months after the surgery so it was a suicide according to the doctor. But I decided to take the fight and I decided to take another fight for Dos Santos which wasn't a smart idea in that condition.

"But I'm just a fighter and I like the sport. I like fighting. I like competition, but obviously you need to make a decision with the head, not with the heart.

"As I said, the leg is finally completely recovered. It was a very hard injury, it really took time. Now it is one and a half years since I had the operation and now it's finally okay. Finally a few months ago I started with the full kicking.

"If you noticed, I tried only once to kick Junior dos Santos because I didn't feel very stable. I didn't feel my leg was good so I just didn't kick it.

"Of course it frustrated me a lot but it was my decision to enter the cage. It was my decision to accept the fight. Nobody forced me to do that. But thank God it's behind me now and my legs are okay now."

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