The master of the left head kick is coming back to the UFC.

The master of the left head kick is coming back to the UFC.

Mirko Cro Cop, a legendary knockout artist from his days in PRIDE, has actually been re-signed by the UFC after four years away. UFC president Dana White verified the news with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. It was initially reported on Twitter by journalist John Joe O’Regan.

Cro Cop, 40, didn’t have a great very first run with the UFC. Actually, it would not be unfair to call it frustrating given all the buzz behind him originating from PRIDE. The Croatian went 4-6 under the UFC banner from 2007 to 2011 with 3 battles in Japan between. He never beat a real competitor in the heavyweight division.

Cro Cop (30-11-2, 1 NC) was primed for a UFC heavyweight title shot after knocking out Eddie Sanchez in his debut. However he famously was knocked out by Gabriel Gonzaga via Cro Cop’s hallmark left head kick, eliminating him from title contention. Cro Cop, whose genuine name is Mirko Filipovic, never ever returned into title contention.

The previous K-1 champion’s name showed up simply last week. Bellator MMA president Scott Coker was asked if the organization wanted signing Cro Cop and he said they had “several discussions” with him about returning to the United States. Obviously, the UFC beat Bellator to the punch. Or the left high kick, if you will.

Cro Cop is coming off 2 straight success in Japan over Satoshi Ishii, the latest on Dec. 31 by means of TKO (head kick and punches). He is 3-1 because leaving the UFC, but not versus the best competitors. Cro Cop left the UFC after 3 straight losses to Roy Nelson, Brendan Schaub and Frank Mir.

Because leaving, Cro Cop has likewise competed in kickboxing, winning a K-1 grand prix in 2012 and going 1-1 under the Glory banner.