The Sun has set on Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

The elephant in the room is that Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic is done competing at the top levels of MMA.

In an interview with Jutarnji.hr Mirko himself seems to have realized this as well, (translation via BigOddsMike.com)

"Maybe the ones who have said that I'm done are right. Obviously, I can't break my mental block in the Octagon. Besides, I've been training like a spartan for 20 years now - my body is worn out. The years caught up to me, I've been worn out.... [Junior dos Santos] won that fight and would have won it by decision. Simply put, he is younger, more hungry, more aggressive. He wanted to win a lot more.... The mat was slippery like glass. I almost fell down trying to do the left high kick. But I'm not looking for an alibi. This was not the performance the public would pay for. I don't feel the hunger anymore. I started playing it safe, I'm not ready to take risks. I would like to thank everybody that supported me and stood by me and everyone who helped me to prepare for this fight. I've been living a military life for 20 years now. Getting up at 6 a.m. and having physically challenging task up to 8 p.m. I want a normal life. I'm entering a cage and thinking about fishing in Privlaka. You can't win that way. Maybe I should've quit after I won the open weight grand prix."

There are two schools of thoughts about aged athletes. The first is that the athlete doesn't know (at least on the surface) that his physical tools are waning and as a result holds on for too long blemishing his or her's legacy.

The second theory is that the athlete is the first to know when their time is up, but goes on faking it to managers, promoters, co-workers and owners in order to keep making a few more bucks before the 45 years of retirement. 

Whatever happened to Mirko it doesn't really matter anymore. The loss to Junior dos Santos was an inauspicious way to end a great career.

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