K-1 Legend Ray Sefo to Face 'Cro Cop' in Kickboxing Showdown

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Ray Sefo in action during some of his more famous bouts. Courtesy of OneTrueMedia.com

Legendary K-1 fighter Ray Sefo will step back into the kickboxing ring in March to face Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, a PRIDE and UFC veteran who was once considered among the best heavyweights in the sport.

The highly-anticipated bout will take place at Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia on March 10 and is something of a dream fight for many a K-1 fan as both Sefo and Filipovic are legends in the history of K-1's heavyweight division, but have never fought before.

Currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada and training with Xtreme Couture, 40-year-old "Sugar" Ray Sefo is a New Zealand kickboxer, boxer and MMA fighter with five Muay Thai world titles.

A veteran of the fighting sports world, Sefo began fighting professionally in New Zealand in 1989 and has 15 years of experience at the highest level of kickboxing, which has earned him a professional kickboxing record of 56-21-1.

He has faced every major name in K-1's history, and despite a patchy record in 2007-2008, has won three of his last  four kickboxing bouts.

In recent times, Sefo has been focussing on improving his MMA career (2-1 currently) while working as a trainer for UFC fighters like Vitor Belfort.

For Filipovic, this will be his first kickboxing match since 2003, when he moved into the MMA arena. From 1996-2003 he earned a 16-7 record under K-1 rules, facing many of the sport's best fighters.

Despite never managing to break through to the highest level of the K-1 tournament, his wins over fighters like Mark Hunt, Peter Aerts, Jerome Le Banner, and Bob Sapp have created a formidable reputation in the ring.

The 37-year-old fought his last MMA bout in October last year, losing to Roy Nelson in a round-three TKO. The loss was his third straight overall and he finished his MMA career with a record of 27-10-2, 1 no contest.

Dubbed "Final Fight,", the fight is expected to serve as Filipovic's official retirement from combat sports.

"This fire in me will last forever," Filipovic said.

"This is not just some fight to me. Like every time, I will prepare like it's the most important fight in my life."