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.
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