“The Pit Bull” vs “Bigfoot”
September 13, 2014
In 2008, Arlovski and UFC parted ways. For five years, he continued to compete for other fighting promotions, racking up notable wins over Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson during his time outside the Octagon. In 2014, Arlovski made his return to the UFC’s heavyweight division.
After a 15-minute hard-fought battle with Brendan Schaub, Arlovski won the bout by split decision. For his next assignment, Arlovski was given the daunting task of fighting Antônio Silva. Standing at 6-4, not many were clamoring for a fight against “Bigfoot”. This would be a real test to see if Arlovski really was back and ready to compete with the very best in the UFC.
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Arlovski’s plan against Silva worked perfectly. He continued to stick and move while staying outside of Silva’s reach. Silva was able to corner Arlovski for a brief moment, but “The Pit Bull” responded with straight punches that broke his guard. As Silva crashed to the canvas, Arlovski swarmed the Brazilian and landed a few hammerfists until the Brazilian was done. Arlovski delivered the statement he was looking for as he silenced Silva’s hometown crowd with a massive upset.
Andrei Arlovski vs Ian Freeman
June 4, 2005
Falling short in his previous two bouts inside the Octagon, Arlovski needed an impressive win if he wanted to find himself in title contention. For his fourth bout inside the Octagon, Arlovski took on 13-5 Ian Freeman. Freeman was a formidable foe who was on a three-fight win streak and coming off a first-round knockout over future UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Staying just out of Freeman’s range, Arlovski was able to land solid leg kicks and deliver a right hand that would rock his opponent. As Freeman tried to recover, Arlovski was consistent with blasting leg kicks. Once he had Freeman against the cage, he let his hands go and delivered a barrage of heavy strikes. Freeman was out on his feet and the fight was soon over.
