Two former UFC heavyweight champions collide Saturday night as Andrei Arlovski battles Frank Mir in UFC 191’s co-main event. For these former training partners, the matchup serves as a chance for each fighter to complete their own remarkable comeback story.
Arlovksi (24-10, 1 NC) made his UFC debut in 2000 and won the interim heavyweight championship five years later at UFC 51 by submitting Tim Sylvia. At that time Arlovski was one of the UFC’s biggest stars, a knockout artist whose appearance and personality captivated fight fans. But just three years later, he was no longer a champion and his career would eventually go on a downward spiral.
A contract dispute with the UFC forced “The Pitbull” to sign elsewhere, despite being on a three-fight winning streak at the time. He went on to compete for now-defunct promotions Affliction, EliteXC and Strikeforce. Following back-to-back knockout wins over Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson, Arlovski would endure the worst losing streak of his career. From 2009-2011, Arlovski was knocked out by Fedor Emelianenko, Sergei Kharitonov, relative unknown Brett Rogers and lost a decision to Antonio Silva. Many pundits and fans were calling for his retirement as it appeared that the Jackson-Winkeljohn product’s best days were behind him.
However, since that rough patch Arlovski has gone 9-1 with one no contest and his only blemish being a unanimous decision loss to Anthony Johnson. In 2014 he returned to the UFC for the first time in six years. After a controversial split decision victory over Brendan Schaub at UFC 174, the 36-year-old has won two straight UFC fights by first-round knockout over “Bigfoot” Silva and Travis Browne.
Arlovski’s run has become a feel good story and now he faces a man that has walked a similar path in his last two fights.
Mir (18-9) won the UFC heavyweight title before Arlovski, defeating Sylvia at UFC 48 in 2004. However, a devastating motorcycle accident put an abrupt halt to his promising career. Mir had two breaks in his femur and tore all the ligaments in his knee. The injury kept the Las Vegas native on the sidelines for nearly two years and he was stripped of his title due to inactivity. From there, Mir struggled to find constancy upon his return to the Octagon, losing bouts to Marcio Cruz and Brandon Vera both by first-round TKO. Mir would turn things around, however, going on a 7-2 run and capturing the interim UFC heavyweight title by stopping Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92. He lost a title unification bout to Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 100, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he would suffer the longest losing streak of his career.
After a failed bid at the UFC heavyweight championship in 2012 against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, Mir was beaten by Daniel Cormier, Josh Barnett and Alistair Overeem. However, this year, Mir has written his own comeback story earning two straight first-round knockout victories over Silva and Todd Duffee and suddenly he’s once again relevant in the heavyweight division and the timing couldn’t be better since former contenders like Mark Hunt, Silva and Browne are out of the picture.
Mir and Arlovski represent the old guard riding the new wave of UFC heavyweight contenders. Stylistically, both fighters have made improvements in their striking technique as well as their striking defence. While Arlovski has the more impressive winning streak, Mir has faced the tougher competition. All the critics who say these two have questionable chins can look at the facts, Mir hasn’t been knocked out since 2013 and Arlovski hasn’t since 2011.
Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson may be headlining the card, but make no mistake about it, Mir-Arlovski is fight most fans are looking forward to. Oddsmakers have Arlovski as the slight favourite heading into the matchup, but this is one of the most competitive fights on the card. Depending on how this fight plays out, don’t be surprised if the winner of this matchup is next in line for the heavyweight title. Their name value and fan appeal alone make a strong case to be the next challenger for UFC heavyweight gold.
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