Mirko “Cro Cop” Reports He’s Done Fighting Due to Recent Stroke

Mirko “Cro Cop” scored a win at Bellator 216 earlier this month, and as it turns out, it will be the last time we see the legend fight.

The 44-year-old Croatian star, who earned a decision win over Roy Nelson at the aforementioned event, reported on Nova TV today that he suffered a stroke recently. As a result, “Cro Cop” has no choice but to retire (quote via MMA Junkie):

“I will never enter the ring again. I cannot let anyone hit me. I have to have (an MRI) in three months, (and) after that I will train again, boxing bags, but there is no such thing as a fight.”

“Cro Cop” also reported the news via Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

Dragi prijatelji,zadnja borba je bila i moja posljednja borba.nekoliko puta sam najavljivao kraj pa se vracao jer je to bilo jace od mene ali sada je zaista kraj.u ponedjeljak na jutarnjem treningu dozivio sam mozdani udar.da ne duljim,imao sam ogromnu srecu da me nije paraliziralo ili deformiralo lice.danas sam izasao iz bolnice i osjecam se dobro,i nadam se da ce tako i ostati.liječničke upute i upozorenja sam shvatio vise nego ozbiljno i sada je ispred mene faza oporavka gdje moram biti vrlo discipliniran.nakon cca 3 mjeseca ukoliko magnetna rezonanca pokaze da je oporavak bio uspjesan moći cu nastaviti sa treninzima ali vise nikada necu smjeti sparirati i primati udarce u glavu jer bi to bilo prerizično a kamoli se boriti.ali sve je to zivot.ovo je upozorenje koje sam ozbiljno shvatio.zahvaljujem svima koji ste me pratili tokom moje karijere i bili uz mene i u pobjedama i u porazima.imao sam bogatu i jako dugu karijeru i zaista nemam žaliti za ičim.hvala svima❤️

A post shared by Mirko Filipović (@crocop1009) on Mar 1, 2019 at 12:24pm PST

The feared striker retires having gone 38-11-2, with 1 NC in MMA, and 26-8 in kickboxing competition. During his storied career, “Cro Cop” won tournaments under the PRIDE, RIZIN FF and K-1 banners.