When Croatian MMA legend Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic entered the UFC, he was the most feared heavyweight in the world. He had just dominated the competition en route to winning the PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix tournament in September 2006, stopping Wanderlei Silva in the semifinals and Josh Barnett in the finals on the same night. He made short work of journeyman Eddie Sanchez in his octagon debut and the expectation was that he’d soon challenge Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight championship. Instead, he was never the same fighter again. Cro Cop began an inexorable downward spiral that culminated with a TKO loss to Frank Mir at this weekend’s UFC 119 event. Every indication now is that he’ll be retiring from the sport, possibly as soon as his arrival back in Croatia.