UFC Fight Night 51 results: Andrei Arlovski gets revenge, knocks out ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in Brazil

BRASILIA, Brazil — Antonio Silva was fighting in his hometown for the first time in his MMA career a day before his 35th birthday, but former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski spoiled the party in the first round at UFC Fight Night 51 on Sept. 13.

Quicker than “Bigfoot” since the first moments of the bout, Arlovski used his clean boxing to tag the Brazilian several times before sending him to the canvas with a right hook. He kept punishing Silva with punches, eventually knocking him out cold at the 2:59 mark.

“I definitely wanted to knock him out – nothing personal,” Arlovski said after his eighthknockout victory under the UFC banner.

In the co-main event, longtime veteran Gleison Tibau started battering Piotr Hallman and almost got the finish early, but the Polish lightweight was able to survive and keep fighting back. The Brazilian slowed down in the later rounds, and Hallman got the better of the action in the end, but Tibau went home with another split decision victory.

A pair of close bouts ended in close calls at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium. Bantamweights Iuri Alcantara and Russel Doane battled for 15 minutes, and the Brazilian won by way of unanimous decision win. In the lightweight division, Leonardo Santos got the nod scoring a unanimous decision over a returning and fellow The Ultimate Fighter winner Efrain Escudero.

“I tried to finish him, but he was really smart to defend himself,” Santos told MMAFighting.com after the close win. “This win was really important for me. It was a tough fight, but he’s a veteran, and he’s hard to finish.”

In the main card’s opening bout, it was pure domination from Jessica Andrade. Taking on UFC newcomer Larissa Pacheco, unbeaten in 10 fights, Andrade landed heavy hands on ground and pound before locking in a guillotine choke. Andrade moved to 3-0 since losing to Liz Carmouche in her Octagon debut.

“I wanted to stand and brawl, but she basically gave me the opportunity to take her down,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com after the win. “I always try the guillotine, that’s my favorite move, so I loved to finish another fight that way.”

Another brutal finish came by the hands of Santiago Ponzinibbio, who knocked out Wendell Oliveira with a punching combination in the opening round. Oliveira went out and quickly went back up, but that was enough for referee Mario Yamasaki, who ended the bout at the 1:20 mark.

BRASILIA, Brazil — Antonio Silva was fighting in his hometown for the first time in his MMA career a day before his 35th birthday, but former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski spoiled the party in the first round at UFC Fight Night 51 on Sept. 13.

Quicker than “Bigfoot” since the first moments of the bout, Arlovski used his clean boxing to tag the Brazilian several times before sending him to the canvas with a right hook. He kept punishing Silva with punches, eventually knocking him out cold at the 2:59 mark.

“I definitely wanted to knock him out – nothing personal,” Arlovski said after his eighthknockout victory under the UFC banner.

In the co-main event, longtime veteran Gleison Tibau started battering Piotr Hallman and almost got the finish early, but the Polish lightweight was able to survive and keep fighting back. The Brazilian slowed down in the later rounds, and Hallman got the better of the action in the end, but Tibau went home with another split decision victory.

A pair of close bouts ended in close calls at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium. Bantamweights Iuri Alcantara and Russel Doane battled for 15 minutes, and the Brazilian won by way of unanimous decision win. In the lightweight division, Leonardo Santos got the nod scoring a unanimous decision over a returning and fellow The Ultimate Fighter winner Efrain Escudero.

“I tried to finish him, but he was really smart to defend himself,” Santos told MMAFighting.com after the close win. “This win was really important for me. It was a tough fight, but he’s a veteran, and he’s hard to finish.”

In the main card’s opening bout, it was pure domination from Jessica Andrade. Taking on UFC newcomer Larissa Pacheco, unbeaten in 10 fights, Andrade landed heavy hands on ground and pound before locking in a guillotine choke. Andrade moved to 3-0 since losing to Liz Carmouche in her Octagon debut.

“I wanted to stand and brawl, but she basically gave me the opportunity to take her down,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com after the win. “I always try the guillotine, that’s my favorite move, so I loved to finish another fight that way.”

Another brutal finish came by the hands of Santiago Ponzinibbio, who knocked out Wendell Oliveira with a punching combination in the opening round. Oliveira went out and quickly went back up, but that was enough for referee Mario Yamasaki, who ended the bout at the 1:20 mark.