Maro Perak finally has an opponent for the main bout of the FFC04 event scheduled for May 10 in the beautiful Visnjik arena in Zadar. As learned by Fight Site, the fighter in question is young Polish hope, 23-year-old Blazej Wojcik. MMA fans might be saddened at the news that former UFC man Denis Stojnic will not fight in Zadar and that we will not be able to see the long-awaited Perak vs Stojnic matchup for the foreseeable future. Looking for answers, we've turned to the Final Fight boss himself – Orsat Zovko.
"I'm sorry that Perak vs. Stojnic won't happen as it was obvious that most people wanted this fight and that it would be a total hit. Denis thinks that at this point beating Perak wouldn't bring him any closer to getting back in the UFC, so this fight didn't make sense to him. He'd put the ball in my court in an interview, and then I offered him several names as possible opponents; among them were Aleksandru Lungu, Dion Staring and James McSweeney. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a common ground since Denis asked for Andrei Arlovski, Mustapha Al Turk or Jeff Monson. Monson has already arranged a fight in Russia, we've contacted Al Turk, but the man has been in retirement for quite a while, and Arlovski is too expensive for the FFC at this point. All this doesn't mean you won't see Denis in the FFC in the future," Zovko explained, adding:
"We've been through a lot of trouble last few weeks with finding an adequate opponent for Perak. Only when you experience first-hand what it's like when several confirmed fighters cancel due to injuries or some other reasons can you see what problems face Dana White and the UFC who reshuffle fight cards for their events on a weekly basis. Blazej Wojcik may not be the biggest name on the European MMA scene, but after an injury and a prolonged period without a fight, we think he is the adequate opponent for Maro at this moment."
Zovko revealed that he has agreed to three fights by the end of 2013 with Perak…
"It's a plan that should work out, and it will also depend on some other factors. In the second part of the year we'll have several top-level events and then you can expect Perak back in the leading role. We already have a list of potential opponents and these are top names of the European and global MMA scene."
Is the fight card for FFC04 in Zadar now final?
"We had one or two more surprises that the local crowd will surely appreciate. I'm especially looking forward to the Brestovac vs Lascenko and Truscek vs Bakocevic fights. This is Mladen's ticket to the top tier of the European heavyweight kickboxing scene, and I think that the fight between Ivica and Vaso needs no special introduction. This is a fight that everyone's been waiting for and I can't wait for those two fighters to face each other in the ring."
Tickets for FFC04 – Zadar have been recently released for sale via the Eventim system at the price starting at 70 HRK.
FFC04 – Zadar
Maro "The Mean Machine" Perak vs. Blazej Wojcek MMA, HW
Mladen Brestovac vs. Sergei Lascenko KB, HW
Jason "The Villain" Jones vs. Matteo "The White Guy" Minonzio MMA, -93kg
Ivica "Terror" Truscek vs. Vaso "Psihopat" Bakocevic MMA, -70kg
Zoran Majkic vs. Jason Wilnis KB, -88kg
Emil Zoraj vs. Zlatko Bajic KB, -81kg
Antun "Killer" Racic vs. Bojan "Zelva" Kosendar MMA, -70kg
David Vasic vs. Luka Jelcic MMA, -81kg
Marko Lukacic vs. Antonio Mijatovic MMA, -84kg
Ante Verunica vs. Igor Mihaljevic, KB, HW