Is that french guy in Fedor's league of skill or are they different weight classes? I just saw some 'behind the scenes' type show with the french guy (Georges ?) after he had won his first belt. The guy trains hard and seems hyper athletic -- the highlights they showed seemed like some of the most exciting knockouts/ submissions i've seen.
I just caught the replay and holy crap. Seeing Cro Cop go down like that I was in complete shock. Also seeing his knee/ankle twist back the way it did was just sickening.
Crocop just didn't look in his normal shape and those multiple elbows though blocked for the most part probably took some toll on him. something he's not used to since you can't elbow like that in Pride. He's my favorite fighter and it was tough to see him go down like that.
It comes down to that is not the Mirko we are used to seeing. There was zero agression and Gonzaga came straight at him. A guy like Mirko needs to press the action and put his opponent into defensive mode to be effective. He threw ONE shot the whole fight. ONE freaking leg kick that got him taken down. It just seems like he was not into this fight at all. I did see an interview done with him on sunday and his ankle is still swollen and he will have an MRI done on it to see if there is any damage and he also said that he will be back fighting soon. Hopefully he gets that killer instinct he has shown in the past. I just don't know why he continued to just stand there without offering any offense, it was just confusing.