There is a familiar face back in the UFC Octagon…
In a big announcement made last Thursday, a former UFC champion has returned to the Octagon: Andrei Arlovski. One of the most notable faces from a much different time in the UFC heavyweight division, Arlovski hasn’t stepped foot in the Octagon since he left on a 3-fight win streak ending in March of 2008. Since that fight, Arlovski has seen major ups and downs including a 4-fight losing streak that had him looking up at the lights knocked out 3 times within 2 years. However, he has racked up a record of 8-5 (1) outside the UFC and had wins over names like Mike Kyle, Roy Nelson, and Ben Rothwell. With this addition to the ever talented Heavyweight division, he creates many possible match-ups and potential interest from a few of the older fans that watched his battles with Tim Sylvia.
Looking at the Heavyweight division, there are a lot of stylistic match-ups that can become very interesting for Arlovski, and obviously he will have to start low and work his way up the rankings before even considering a title shot. The word has floated around on social media that Brendan Schaub could be the first matchup for him, and I think it would be a great reintroduction. Schaub has faced some of the older heavyweights, knocking out Mirko Cro Cop and taking Gabriel Gonzaga to a decision. So a good placement for the 31-year-old heavyweight would be to test Arlovski and see which fighter stays conscious longer. This can also give us a true statement on both fighters and where they should stand in the division, now more than ever the UFC has become a fight to keep a job. “Boring” fighters are getting axed a little more than the slugfest inducing fighters like Diego Sanchez or Donald Cerrone.
The fight I will be personally clamoring for is a rematch against Roy Nelson. Arlovski is the only man to stop Roy Nelson and knock him out, and that goes up against a list of fighters like Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, Daniel Cormier, and Fabricio Werdum. Not to mention Nelson is coming off a walk-off knockout of Big Nog only a few weeks ago. This fight could, and more likely will, produce big fireworks and one man will probably be knocked cold. We’ve seen Arlovski’s killer instinct still intact in his last few fights and of course Nelson is always packing in his hands. This could even headline a Fight Pass or Fox show, just to gather interest back in Arlovski and gain some recognition back. The story of a second chance for Arlovski and the continued hunt for UFC gold for Nelson is very appealing to most fans. Again, Arlovski has the name recognition to bring out a few of the on the fence fans that haven’t gotten used to the new breed of fighters.
Lastly, since the heavyweight division has been pretty exciting as of late, there’s one fight that would please the fans that have been around a while and that’s a fight against Big Nog, Minotauro Noguiera. Arlovski and Nog never met in their time and, although neither man is in his prime anymore, it’s still an intriguing match-up based on the recent performance of each fighter. Nogueira is coming off being knocked out by Roy Nelson and if he were to be matched up against Arlovski, then he would have to wary of his power. Arlovski will obviously have to watch out for Nogueira’s Jiu Jitsu even though he has never been submitted in his pro career. This fight would really show if either man still can draw numbers like some of the younger talent can, so put them as a co main event on a pay per view, or even again, a Fight Pass card.
With the re-signing of Arlovski, fans can clearly see the UFC is looking for more ways to propel their heavyweight division to bigger ratings and views. Since the departure of one of the biggest heavyweight stars in history, Brock Lesnar, we have only seen a few big time heavyweight fights make an impact in the market. Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos have both made big events, but they can’t fight each other every event. The UFC needs more stars and it has to be difficult in a world where a loss seems to make fans think that fighter is “bad” or overrated. This causes difficulty in trying to raise up a big name and make a profit off of their popularity. With the new faces like Chris Weidman coming in the middleweight division, the UFC is looking for the big names to take over the existing superstars of now. Since these new stars aren’t just created, the UFC has to make do with cashing in on names that are still relevant, names like Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, and all of the older names that have been under contract with UFC for quite some time. These names are big and the fans will pay their money to watch them fight. The UFC is in need of a huge star, but instead they will use the former big names to draw in the more casual fan until such a name comes about.
Andrei Arlovski has been slated to fight Brendan Schaub at UFC 174. With that news, this gives Arlovski his chance to knockout one of the “gatekeeper” heavyweights, a fighter stuck around the middle of the rankings, and really push his way into title contention. This also gives Schaub his chance to remove that name and become a contender.
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