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After UFC 174: What’s Next for Andrei Arlovski in the UFC?

It seems like yesterday that Andrei Arlovski was the UFC heavyweight champion and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
However, the Belarusian lost the title against Tim Sylvia over eight years ago now, and he has been an MMA journey…

It seems like yesterday that Andrei Arlovski was the UFC heavyweight champion and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

However, the Belarusian lost the title against Tim Sylvia over eight years ago now, and he has been an MMA journeyman ever since.

Post his disastrous 0-3 stint in Strikeforce, Arlovski has amassed six wins out of his last seven fights, prompting the UFC to re-sign him after a six-year absence from the Octagon.

On Saturday night, at UFC 174, at a sold-out venue in Vancouver, Canada, he went up against Brendan Schaub. On paper, it was a successful return as Arlovski beat Schaub via split decision.

However, in reality, things were quite different.

Nerves and anxiety plagued the “Pitbull” in his UFC return as he offered little offense on the feet and allowed Schaub to take him to the ground.

Luckily, in Schaub he had an opponent who offered little by way of attacks during the fight, resulting in a less-than-crowd-pleasing contest.

Arlovski may have had his hands raised, however, few if anyone would say he is the same Arlovski fans know and love. Put simply, Arlovski has gotten a little older.

Some may say that he’s only 35, the same age as Daniel Cormier, who has had an impressive MMA and UFC career to date.

The thing is Arlovski has been fighting professional MMA at the top level for over 14 years. He’s fought fighters like Ricco Rodriguez (back when he was one of the top heavyweights), Fabricio Werdum, Sylvia (four times), Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Silva, among others.

To come in after all of that and be competitive against a mid-level UFC fighter like Schaub is an accomplishment in itself. While his chances of fighting for the belt are slim, there are still some good fights for Arlovski in the UFC.

Firstly, the UFC could take the “old school, once were dominant veterans” route and pit Arlovski against either Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira or Josh Barnett.

Minotauro and Barnett are both former MMA phenoms; Minotauro is a former Pride heavyweight champion and interim UFC heavyweight champion, while Barnett is a former UFC heavyweight champion.

A match between Minotauro/Barnett and Arlovski would likely attract the hardcore MMA fanbase and would be a good main card opener.

The UFC could also go the “potential entertaining rematch” route and give Arlovski a fight against either Roy Nelson or Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

Arlovski beat Nelson via knockout in October 2008, but he did so in controversial circumstances after the fighters were stood up while Nelson was in a dominant ground position. Bigfoot beat Arlovski via unanimous decision in May 2010.

Both Nelson and Silva may be too far up the rankings for an immediate fight against Arlovski, but a fight against either fighter would make a good co-main event on a UFC Fight Night card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Chael Sonnen Contributed More Outside the UFC Octagon Than Within

The UFC has always been about the brand before the fighters. Chael Sonnen was able to upset that trend when he became a major star and fan favorite, even though his record wasn’t the greatest. Now that he has walked away from the sport, it’s clear that…

On Wednesday he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. After failing another drug test, he has officially retired from active competition.

He was an admitted testosterone replacement therapy user who openly questioned the ban by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. This forced Sonnen and other fighters to stop using the treatment. A random test administered by the NSAC revealed two illegal substances in his system, anastrozole and clomiphene, both of which are primarily used for treating women.

The results led to Sonnen ending his career during a monologue on UFC Tonight. His statement pointed toward family desires that caused the need for using the illegal substances.

“If I know what I know now, and I know that this is going to work, and I’m going to be able to get my wife pregnant and look forward to having a family, I am going to do the exact same thing 20 more times,” he said on-air, as documented by Sherdog. “Which is going to put me out of compliance 20 more times.”

Just like that, Sonnen’s UFC run is over. He went from a potential title eliminator against Vitor Belfort at UFC 175 to being a former competitor. Now, the conversation turns to Sonnen’s legacy in MMA.

While his record may not support it, there is little doubt that he will eventually be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He has conducted himself in the exact way that the UFC would like.

It’s well-known that the company tends to reward those who are the most compliant to its needs. Sonnen has always been such an athlete, regardless of his issues with PED usage. Taking late-notice fights and being a draw to pay-per-view events kept him in the UFC’s good graces regardless of his performances.

His contribution to the world of MMA is that he’s the blueprint of how fighters can become stars. Sonnen was a middle-tier fighter who put together a 7-7 run in the UFC. However, his ability to talk on the microphone and keep people excited about his fights helped him stay relevant in the sport. Other fighters, such as Conor McGregor, are using similar tactics. While everyone may not enjoy the way he did it, the fact remains that his promotional skills were effective.

“Chael’s a nice guy. I’ve met him and hung out with him,” UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell told MMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco. “I can’t stand the way he promotes fights. I understand what he’s doing; he wasn’t the most exciting fighter, so he made himself exciting by promoting the fight really well, and he got himself a couple of title shots for it.”

MMA now has more and more fighters who are willing to speak their minds and even exaggerate a bit to get the nudge up the ladder that they want. The sport can thank Sonnen.

“The Gangster from West Linn” will not be a part of any conversation about the greatest UFC fighter of all time. However, he contributed to the sport in a way that those who come after him should appreciate and implement.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Vitor Belfort’s Career After Being Scratched from UFC 175

As it turns out, random drug tests are bad news for many of the UFC’s biggest stars.
After failing a random drug test, Chael Sonnen effectively retired from mixed martial arts—leaving the middleweight division’s No. 1 contender,…

As it turns out, random drug tests are bad news for many of the UFC’s biggest stars.

After failing a random drug test, Chael Sonnen effectively retired from mixed martial arts—leaving the middleweight division’s No. 1 contender, Vitor Belfort, without an opponent to kick in the head at UFC 175.

Belfort won’t be entering the Octagon against anybody next month, the UFC told MMAjunkie.

This leaves the former champion and fans wondering who he’ll be standing across in his next fight in the UFC. He failed a drug test and wasn’t suspended, but was successfully replaced by Lyoto Machida in what would have been a title fight against Chris Weidman.

Months after the banning of testosterone replacement therapy, The Phenom is well on his way to becoming as transparent of a fighter as anyone can be. Fighters likely won’t use his alleged TRT abuse as a way of verbally luring him into the Octagon or as the crux of their complaints after they lose to him

He likely won’t be the exact same guy fans were accustomed to seeing these past three years—any allegedly clean fighter should be chomping at the bit to prove it.

Here are three fights Belfort should take in place of his UFC 175 bout:

Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping has changed his opinion on Belfort several times. He criticized his opponent before the fight about TRT use, but respectfully accepted the knockout loss immediately afterward.

It wasn’t until Belfort was pulled from a middleweight championship bout with Weidman that Bisping decided to sound off again.

A rematch with Belfort would not only help alleviate any concerns Bisping has about that loss on his record, but would also serve as a reliable source to prove how effective Belfort can be against the same opponent without TRT use.

Tim Kennedy

A win over Bisping would prove he’s still as good as he once was.

A win over Tim Kennedy proves he’s even better.

Kennedy is probably the fastest rising fighter at middleweight outside of the top five. He captured a knockout finish against Rafael Natal with an injured quadriceps, and grinded out solid victories against Bisping and Roger Gracie.

With a 3-0 UFC record, Kennedy’s strength could pose several problems for the aging Belfort.

Winner of Weidman vs. Machida

This one’s probably the most obvious bout for Belfort to take.

Not only would it help the No. 1 contender’s body become accustomed to life after TRT, but it would also grant Belfort the title shot he was promised in the first place.

It’s difficult to predict whether the UFC would gift Weidman or Machida an immediate rematch, assuming the champion loses or the challenger plays victim to a controversial loss.

Either way, Belfort’s no longer the young fighter he once was and it’s unlikely he’ll find himself in the title picture ever again if he loses to anybody who doesn’t have gold wrapped around his waist. He’d be wise to wait.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The 12 Most Awesome/Terrible ‘EA Sports UFC’ Demo Videos Created by Actual Users

(Nut shots. It’s in the game.™)

By Ryan Harkness

Last week, the much anticipated EA Sports reboot of the UFC video game franchise went live in demo form — those fortunate enough to already own a next gen console got to take control of Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson and beat the living piss out of each other for as long as that stayed entertaining. And based on the hundreds of user-uploaded videos, it seems like people are indeed entertained…if not always for the right reasons.

We’ve now dug up the 12 best videos created thus far so you can get a closer look at how the game plays when in the hands of semi-competent gamers. Follow me after the jump to see all the best knockouts, tap-outs, and glitch-outs that EA SPORTS UFC has to offer.

A lot of YouTubers tend to upload knockout videos that are 8 minutes long and feature two to three knockouts. This is terrible. So don’t bother with any other allegedly ‘hilarious’ and / or ‘brutal’ knockout highlight videos. Watch this one, which crams over 25 knockouts into less than two minutes. Some compelling ass-kicking music and 1080p rendering really lets you enjoy watching Alexander Gustafsson recreate such famous KO poses as the Etim, the Salmon, and the Quarry. What, no Schaub trying to catch his soul?

(Nut shots. It’s in the game.™)

By Ryan Harkness

I’m still having a hard time getting my takedown defense up to even British levels of consistency, never mind pulling off fancy submissions on the ground. But others have mastered the system and have created a playlist featuring every sub in the game. There’s some pretty fancy ones like the inverted triangle and Peruvian necktie, but my favorite remains the kimura because of the epic poopface fighters make while going for it.

Question for readers: Does Jon Jones’ use of the Five-Point-Palm Exploding-Heart-Technique make him a dirty fighter? Don’t forget to let everyone know what an asshole you think he is in the comments.

There are a couple of animations that seem to pop up a lot in this demo. There’s that pro wrestling body slam that makes up for 33.33333 percent of all takedowns, and then there’s this super stunned staggering business, which can get a little over the top at times. Never give up hope though — Frankie Edgar looked twice as bad during those Gray Maynard fights and still managed to pull out the win.

Just like in real life, video game Jon Jones is poking everyone in their facenuts. Video game Alexander Gustafsson’s response to this is one of the best delayed reaction performances you’re going to see outside of soccer.

On the next page: Sudden paralysis, heavy petting, and the ONE WEIRD TRICK to winning every time…

Brazil’s Best Make Their World Cup Picks

Jose Aldo” title=”UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo” style=”width: 300px;” src=”http://media.ufc.tv//136/images/136OW/08_136OpenWorkouts.jpg” align=”left”>Like any Brazilian in love with soccer, UFC fighters are ready for the start of the World Cup and they’re eager to give their opinions.Starting today and lasting until July 13, 32 teams from around the world will compete for the title of world champion of FIFA. In all, 64 games will be shown to over 600 million viewers.For the second time in the tournament’s history, Brazil is the host country. The first time around, in 1950, Brazil lost … Read the Full Article Here

Ranking the 5 Best Foreign UFC Fighters

The minds behind the UFC are determined to use foreign fighters such as Alexander Gustafsson, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dong Hyun Kim to take their product worldwide. These athletes are just three of the top five foreign fighters who will help expand the…

The UFC roster is comprised of many competitors from across the world. While American-born fighters are still dominating the title scene, there is great value in the competitors who are popular on foreign soil.

These top five fighters are not only the individuals who are consistently winning, but they also present the most promotional value in critical areas of expansion. These athletes are winning their bouts while promoting themselves to the desires of fight fans.

These are fighters who are not born in either the United States or Brazil, which are already highly profitable markets for the UFC.

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