Report: MMA legend, Rizin FF tourney winner Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic retires again

Fresh off of winning the Rizin FF Grand Prix Open Weight 2016, Mirko Filipovic is apparently hanging up his gloves – again.

“That was definitely my last tournament,” Filipovic recently told CroatiaWeek.com. “I have health problems, and this is definitely the end of my career. I know I have announced my retirement before, but this is definitely it.”

“Cro Cop” called it quits less than two years ago under controversial circumstances.

Prior to a scheduled fight at UFC Fight Night 79 in November 2015, the 42-year-old former PRIDE and UFC standout suddenly announced he was injured and would retire from the sport. One day later, the UFC’s drug-testing partner – the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency – announced he had been provisionally suspended for a potential violation, and he later admitted to using human growth hormone, among other treatments, to heal himself.

Although Filipovic later claimed an out-of-competition test did not reveal HGH in his system, USADA suspended him for two years for disclosing his use of the banned substance.

Filipovic’s Rizin FF tournament win this past Saturday capped a triumphant return to the ring 10 years after he won the PRIDE open weight grand prix. He stopped Bellator standout Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in the quarterfinals, and then stopped Kaido Hoovelson in the semis before taking the competition with a first-round finish of Amir Aliakbari in the final.

“Cro Cop” said he will remain in the sport in other capacities and added he already has “offers from abroad.” This time around, he ends his career with a 35-11-2 record.

For more on Rizin FF Grand Prix Open Weight 2016, check out the MMA Events section of the site.