“There’s one fight left on my UFC contract. I will have this fight, regardless of what the reporters think. However, there’s a possibility that the UFC will insist on not allowing me to fight. I will accept their decision. It’s time to retire, despite the fact that I want to continue. Next year, it will be 20 years since my first fight… I had a great career, and I don’t regret anything. But I don’t want to finish it defeated." - Mirko Cro Cop

Mirko Cro Cop is adamant that he finish out his career with a victory, regardless of if the UFC will allow it. In a recent interview, translated by GetNiceAbs.com, Cro Cop expressed his desire to fight one more time. 

In his most recent Octagon appearance, Cro Cop looked better than his previous outings but still ultimately came up short against Brendan Schaub. The kickboxing legend hung with the young fighter for two and a half rounds before eating a major shot that knocked him out cold.

“I’m very sorry," Cro Cop said. "I was more than ready for my last two fights, but still, I was unable to see the punches coming. I would like to apologize to all my fans. Believe me, I’m also very disappointed.”

While Cro Cop would like to go out as a winner, he doesn't know if that will be possible if the UFC won't keep him around. The recent Zuffa acquisition of Strikeforce and the decay of Japanese MMA has left Cro Cop without many viable options.

“There’s no other options," Cro Cop said. "UFC is a monopoly. Soon, they’ll swallow Strikeforce, so I have basically nowhere to go. The Japanese market is dead, DREAM is dead, and the tragedy in Japan annihilated all the other Japanese MMA promotions.”

Would you like to see Cro Cop trot out to the Octagon one last time? Say against someone like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira? Leave your comments below.