UFC 222: Cyborg vs Kunitskaya

[David]

6 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

Possible but i can't see it, the takedowns were a nice wrinkle but i don't Arlovski has the sort of style to go in and hit and not be hit which is sort of Overeem tries to appraoch things when he's being smart. Like you said, it really is a toss-up at heavyweight though, that's why so many of these guys stay relevant for so long, it does literally take one shot and powers the last thing to go.

 

Exactly. If he employed the same tactics Overeem has he can stage a mini-revival of sorts. Will it get him to the title? Likely not, but still, it's worth a shot.

[ColinBollocks]

23 minutes ago, David said:

Personally, I'd give Arlovski a chance against anyone from 10th to 6th, especially Mark Hunt or Derrick Lewis. Beyond the top six? Maybe Overeem? Even Werdum?

Aside from a select few fighters the Heavyweight division is somewhere that's difficult to get a streak going due to the power that almost every guy has. Anyone in the top ten could beat anyone else on any given night aside from Miocic & Ngannou. I don't even know what Cain will be like if he ever comes back after almost two years out and at 35 years old.

We've seen with Overeem what a guy can do if he takes his experience and changes things up a bit. Arlovski could very well do the same.

We'll get a chance to see soon. I'm on Team Arlovski, so I very much hope he can put it together for another run.

[Egg Shen]

who would you match him with next? How about Tai Tuivasa? proper sink or swim fight for Andrei and gives Tai the chance to get the 'rub' so to speak from a bigger name, i like that fight.

[David]

Wouldn't mind seeing him face Mark Hunt. Don't think we've seen that fight before, have we?

I know Hunt's coming off a loss, but he's still ranked 6th so it would be a step up for Arlovski in that regard, and a fun fight.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, Arlovski vs Hunt is somehow a fresh fight in 2018. I'd like to see it. Could see it either headlining a Fight Night in Australia or New Zealand, even Japan maybe, or being used to beef up a PPV main card. 

Big fan of Arlovski so I'd love to see a resurgence of some sort. I'd be surprised if it happens though. When you look back, even his resurgence in 2014/15 when he came back to the UFC wasn't that impressive. I think after seeing him get repeatedly twatted previously, we were all swept up in the novelty of him starting to win fights again. But you look back at the wins themselves...

• He beat a Frank Mir who was way past it and Andrei still only won on points in an awful fight.

• There was a decision over Shitarse Schaub in another terrible fight that Schaub should've probably actually won.

• He stopped Travis Browne in a brilliant one rounder but was nearly KO'd himself early on and knowing how crap Browne's been since this fight takes some of the shine off Arlovski's win in hindsight for me. It was a fantastic fight, but not sure how impressive it was looking back. 

• And a KO over a candyfloss chinned shot to bits Bigfoot. Enough said. 

So yeah, not holding my breath for one last run at the title, although I'd love to see it. For me he hasn't been on a really good run of form since about 2007/08 when he was stopping Roy Nelson and Ben Rothwell on the way to the Fedor fight in Affliction. 

And like Ebb says, it's all leading to him getting flattened again in the end. It's a lose-lose in the long run if you're an Arlovski fan. If he beats a guy in the Top 10 then he's got to fight someone better next time. And the better guys in the division probably lay him out. There's no fat blokes wearing nappies or 7ft slugs in the Top 5. 

[Carbomb]

I'd like to see Tai Tuivasa vs. Mark Hunt, for obvious reasons.

[Egg Shen]

Arlovksi/Hunt feels like a completist fight for me, like they'd do it at this point for the sake of it despite them being top 10 guys. I'm all for them using these old veterans who still carry name value fighting up and comers to try and develop new stars. Granted the UFC tried to do with Arlovski fighting that big Brazilian fucker in a nappy which backfired but i'd like to see to see the Tuivasa fight.

Hunt and Tuivasa ain't gonna fight, they are mates.

For the record i think Hunt takes Arlovski's head off his shoulders.

[wandshogun09]

I'm not sure we'll ever see that one Carbomb. I think they're mates and I'm pretty sure they've trained together on and off. You never know, Hunt seems like the type who'd fight his best mate for a bucket of KFC but his career must be coming to an end now (surely) and with limited fights left, I can't see him using one of them to fight a friend/training partner/sort of protégé. 

Anyway, I don't want to see Tuivasa in with anyone too good just yet. Well I do, but I don't. I get the feeling he's probably ready but he's only 2 fights into the UFC, hasn't had much cage time in his career so far and he's still young. There's no rush. Jumping in with a name like Hunt or Arlovski now seems too big of a jump to me compared to the Rashad Coulters and Cyril Askers of the world. I'd like to see him gradually step up with each fight. 

[ColinBollocks]

I agree with wand. Tuivasa still needs a few testers before throwing him in there against a top 6 HW. He's still fairly unproven.

[Egg Shen]

In most divisions i'd agree, but heavyweight feels like an exception. Like was mentioned previously, it's so hard to put a streak together i think you just have to strike when the irons hot, Tuivasa is #14 now, bung him in there.

[David]

3 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Big fan of Arlovski so I'd love to see a resurgence of some sort. I'd be surprised if it happens though. When you look back, even his resurgence in 2014/15 when he came back to the UFC wasn't that impressive. I think after seeing him get repeatedly twatted previously, we were all swept up in the novelty of him starting to win fights again.

As a fan of Arlovski I think we've already seen a resurgence. When he went on that four fight losing streak in the Strikeforce/Affliction days from 2009-2011 I thought he was pretty much finished. 

Even after looking decent enough when dropping down even further to the likes of Pro Elite & WSOF (5-1-1) and soccer kicking big Timeh into oblivion I assumed he was finished when he rolled up at some shit show in Minsk against some no-name.

Then, out of nowhere he pops up and decisions Brendan Schaub at UFC 174. Honestly, if Arlovski had retired there & then, playing a small part in sending the cretin that is Schaub on his way I'd have considered that a good end to a storied career.

But he didn't, he proceeded to go on a 4 fight tear in the UFC, with two stoppages. Unbelievable really, considering where he'd been a few years previous.

After he dropped 5 in a row I then thought he had to be done, surely? But no, he's on a two fight streak and and looking sharp again.

Basically, anything he accomplishes now is beyond a resurgence. His resurgence was that four fight tear in 2014/15. 

Give him some big fights now is my view. Throw him in there with Hunt, and if he wins that one and Cain is looking for a comeback fight then make Arlovski vs Cain. In fact, fuck it. If Lesnar fancies some more cage-time put him in there with Brock. That's a fight worth seeing as well.

To sum up, Arlovski is the fucking man. 

Edit: He made his debut in the UFC at UFC 28. UFC fucking 28. Think about that for a minute. When Arlovski was fighting his first UFC fight Randy Couture was beating Kevin Randleman.

 

[jimufctna24]

9 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Big fan of Arlovski so I'd love to see a resurgence of some sort. I'd be surprised if it happens though. When you look back, even his resurgence in 2014/15 when he came back to the UFC wasn't that impressive. I think after seeing him get repeatedly twatted previously, we were all swept up in the novelty of him starting to win fights again. But you look back at the wins themselves...

Spot on!

5 hours ago, David said:

As a fan of Arlovski I think we've already seen a resurgence. When he went on that four fight losing streak in the Strikeforce/Affliction days from 2009-2011 I thought he was pretty much finished. 

So do he. 

He played Russian Roulette after his losses to Fedor and Rogers. 

 

 

[Egg Shen]

Andrei was fighting a blinder against Fedor too, if he hadn't that thrown that flying knee he might have gone on to win that.

As for debuting at UFC 28, its been a ridiculous run. It also makes me realise that i think ive seen every Andrei fight since he fought Cabbage at UFC 47.

 

[jimufctna24]

1 hour ago, Egg Shen said:

Andrei was fighting a blinder against Fedor too, if he hadn't that thrown that flying knee he might have gone on to win that.

That was my read on the fight. However, I have read others say that Andrei's success in that fight is a bit overstated. I haven't watched the fight back since it happened. I might get round to it at some point. 

The best win of Andrei's career is either his knockout win over Nelson in EliteXc, or his submission win over Sylvia. It really should be his victory over Werdum in 2007. Werdum is the best heavyweight that Arlovski beat. However, Werdum was far from the finished article when he fought Arlovski, and the fight itself was a dud from what I remember. 

Add me to those who like Arlovski. I didn't have instant access to Pride events up until around early 2006. Therefore, Arlovski became my favourite heavyweight by default. He was the only UFC heavyweight that Sherdoggers took semi-seriously. He was nimble on his feet, and had decent hand-speed for MMA standards. He also looked the part. The hair, the beard, and the entrance music - he looked the business. Plus, he walloped Tim Sylvia and Paul "worst catchphrase ever" Buentello. There wasn't much to dislike about him. 

[Egg Shen]

yep, no doubt that Arlovski was the 'don' for a time. His initial UFC title run was great fun, he mixed in poor company but it made him all the more impressive.

As for Fedor/Arlovski. Maybe his success was overstated but it was a at a time when any success against Fedor was a 'what the fuck is happening?!' time. 

I need a fight pass binge.