On April 21, 2007, Gabriel Gonzaga pulled off a memorable upset when he knocked out Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 70 with one of the most vicious head kicks in mixed martial arts history.
Nearly eight years later, Cro Cop avenged that loss in dramatic fashion Saturday.
After being dominated by Gonzaga for the first two rounds in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night event in Krakow, Poland, the Croatian striker came alive in the third.
As Cro Cop was being pressed against the cage by his opponent, he gained some separation and landed a huge left elbow that rocked Gonzaga. He then followed up with a plethora of ground-and-pound elbow strikes to a bloody Gonzaga before the referee called a stop to the fight.
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Cro Cop (31-11-2, 1 NC) hadn’t competed in the UFC since a loss to Roy Nelson in October 2011 and hadn’t won a fight inside the Octagon since February 2010.
Gonzaga (16-10) has now lost three consecutive fights in the UFC.
In the co-main event, Jimi Manuwa rebounded from his first career loss as he edged Jan Blachowicz in a light-heavyweight bout.
Also on the main card, Canadian welterweight Sheldon Westcott lost a unanimous decision to Poland’s Pawel Pawlak and Maryna Moroz upset Joanne Calderwood in women’s strawweight action. Moroz finished Calderwood with an armbar early in the first round before calling out 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who was watching from her cageside seat.
On the preliminary card, England’s Leon Edwards knocked out Seth Baczynski in a mere eight seconds. The win tied Don Frye and James Irvin for the fifth-fastest knockout in UFC history.
Here are the full results from UFC Krakow:
MAIN CARD
— Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO
— Jimi Manuwa def. Jan Błachowicz by unanimous decision
— Pawel Pawlak def. Sheldon Westcott by unanimous decision
— Maryna Moroz def. Joanne Calderwood by submission
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Leon Edwards def. Seth Baczynski by KO
— Bartosz Fabiński def. Garreth McLellan by unanimous decision
— Sergio Moraes def. Mickael Lebout by unanimous decision
— Yaotzin Meza def. Damian Stasiak by unanimous decision
— Anthony Hamilton def. Daniel Omielanczuk by unanimous decision
— Aleksandra Albu def. Izabela Badurek Submission (guillotine choke)
— Stevie Ray def. Marcin Bandel by TKO
— Taylor Lapilus def. Rocky Lee by unanimous decision
