Brendan Schaub vs. Mirko Cro Cop

TUF 10 finalist and possible future title contender Brendan Schaub(7-1) will face Croatian legend Mirko Cro Cop(27-8-2) at UFC 128 according to Sherdog.

18th ranked Brendan Schaub put himself on the map with a win over veteran Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 121. Schaub immediately requested a fight with Frank Mir or a top name. Schaub got his request as of last week, but then the UFC changed Schaub’s opponent from Mir to Stefan Struve, and now days later Sherdog announced a final change with Mirko Cro Cop.

Cro Cop(ranked 19th) is in the twilight of his career. Many fans still believe that the old Cro Cop will reappear, but it looks as if Gonzaga’s kick heard round the MMA world at UFC 75 changed the fighter for good. Cro Cop shows little aggressiveness in the standup game now. Nonetheless, Cro Cop is still a legend and has a little left in the tank as he showed against Pat Barry. Unfortunately when a fighter continues to mention retirement after every fight, you have to question their desire to continue fighting.

Cro Cop’s legend is nothing more than that. Injuries and past slugfests have robbed Cro Cop of his youthful knockout ways. Schaub has the fast-twitch muscle fibers that Cro Cop no longer possesses and he should be able to beat Cro Cop to the punch every time. Schaub’s chin is still questionable, although he shrugged off a few shots from Gonzaga. It’s tough to think that a football player turned MMA prospect will be the betting favorite going into this fight with one of the all-time legends of MMA.