With all due respect to Andrei Arlovski, the fact that he’s now an intriguing contender in the UFC heavyweight division is astonishing, given that “The Pit Bull” has been left for dead a couple different times in his career.
Sure, the 35-year-old former UFC heavyweight champion had gone 7-1 with one No Contest in his nine fights since departing Strikeforce, but he exited that organization riding a four-fight losing streak and beating the likes of Travis Fulton, Devin Cole and Mike Kyle wasn’t exactly awe inspiring.
Neither was his win over Brendan Schaub in his return to the Octgaon at UFC 174. I was seated on press row for that tepid affair and despite getting his hand raised, Arlovski looked slow and unsure of himself, two characteristics you don’t want attached to your name if you’re a professional fighter.
So to go from a guy that looked like he was experiencing “comeback jitters” and a case of the “I don’t belong heres” in Vancouver to the light-on-his-feet, changing levels technician that found a home for a crisp right hand that ended Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva’s homecoming in Brasilia, Brazil on Saturday was unexpected to say the least.
But I have to give credit where it’s due: Arlovski looked good. He moved well, slipped shots and worked high and low on the massive Brazilian before catching him with a clean shot to the dome that dropped Silva like a sack of bricks.
It was a “turn back the clocks” type effort for Arlovski – his first stoppage in the Octagon since UFC 82 against Jake O’Brien – and a victory that should land the Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter in the Top 10 when the next set of rankings come out.
The victory also establishes Arlovski as a viable option in the thin and aged heavyweight ranks. With consecutive victories since returning to the big stage and now 8-1 (1 NC) over his last 10 fights, it’s tough to deny the former champion some bigger opportunities and a chance to move up the ladder, something most observers didn’t expect to be considering when 2014 began.
At this point, the most logical next step is a pairing with the winner of next weekend’s heavyweight main event between Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson.
Hunt has experienced a similar resurgence since arriving in the UFC four years ago, winning four straight before losing to Junior dos Santos and engaging in his epic draw with Silva last December. The former Pride favourite is securely positioned inside the Top 10 and a win over Nelson would put him right back into the mix in the shallow heavyweight ranks.
Should Nelson emerge with the win, a match-up with Arlovski would be a chance to avenge a previous loss, as the two met under the EliteXC banner a number of years ago with “The Pit Bull” scoring the second-round knockout win.
With the rest of the top tier of the heavyweight ranks either booked or too far in front of Arlovski, a date with next weekend’s winner makes the most sense.
Here’s a look at the rest of the fights I would make for Saturday’s main card winners.
Gleison Tibau vs. Yancy Medeiros
Thought this one made sense after Medeiros beat Damon Jackson a couple weeks back and like it even more now. You know what you’re going to get with Tibau, but Medeiros still shows upside. His two UFC losses have come against top-15 opponents, so a match-up with the gatekeeper to that upper tier would serve as a perfect litmus test at this time.
Leo Santos vs. Currently Unsigned Newcomer
There was nothing pretty about Santos’ grinding, exhausted win over Efrain Escudero on Saturday, but he managed to survive a dicey second round and use his superior grappling to secure the victory. That being said, he was originally scheduled to face UFC neophyte Lukasz Sajewski and should find himself facing someone similar on another card in Brazil next time out as the TUF: Brazil winner is a local favourite with limited upside.
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. William Macario/Neil Magny Winner
Ponzinibbio looked great blasting through Wendell Oliveira in less than 90 seconds and a win for Macario next month at UFC 179 could result in the TUF Brazil 2 finale that never was becoming a reality. Should Magny come away with fifth win of 2014, a date against the 1-1 Ponzinibbio might not make sense, unless the surging TUF 16 contestant simply wants to keep getting rounds under his belt.
Iuri Alcantara vs. Erik Perez/Marcus Brimage Winner
Alcantara is in a tough position all around, as the top talents in the bantamweight division are either (a) booked, (b) coming off a loss or (c) inactive. That means that despite a three-fight winning streak and a 4-1 mark since moving to the division, Alcantara is probably left to face the winner of next month’s bout between Perez and Brimage in Mexico. The winner would be the only available top-15 fighter coming off a win that doesn’t merit championship consideration, which is a perfect descriptor of where Alcantara stands right about now.
Jessica Andrade vs. Leslie Smith
Andrade is in a comparable position to Alcantara, having also won three straight inside the Octagon after demolishing prospect Larissa Pacheco on Saturday. While a bout with a top-10 fighter coming off a loss is a possibility (Alexis Davis, Jessica Eye), a wiser course of action might be to match her with another all-action fighter like Smith, who blasted Jessamyn Duke to earn her first UFC win back in July and is the kind of veteran competitor Andrade needs to get by before taking on some of the elite in the women’s bantamweight ranks.