striking second only to Anderson's

Is he tired? some people just lose the will to fight, that fire deep down to destroy the other guy in your ring. His losses against Gonzaga and Konga, his retreat back to the east and subsequent fight delays have shown that something is definatley wrong with Mirko. I hope he gets his fire back, if not I'll just make sure to remember that he was once an exceptional fighter.

I missed the old Cro Cop and the LHK.

Cro Cop is a great fighter, a legend, and his kicks are pure destruction. The Pride Cro Cop was amazing. He had a few years of not being so good. And I don't think he's fully back but I think he is far better now then he was when he first came to the UFC. I am happy he has a huge fight with Mir. I don't know if he can win. But I hope he comes in fully prepared, in shape, and smashes Mir with a brutal left head kick!

He made one mistake, when he joined UFC in the end.
He was way to proud to drop in the weight-class. The heavy weights were simply too much for his own condition at the moment. Frank Mir was over 20 pounds heavier than Cro Cop during their fight, if I remember correctly.
Additionally to that Mir was younger and stronger.

Cro Cop would have dominated the light-heavyweights, where he should have go, since he was near that area with his own weight.

The one and only! Legend...