World Series of Fighting 2: Arlovski vs. Johnson — Live Results and Commentary


(Admit it. You kind of missed that tongue.Photo via facebook.com/MMAWorldSeries)

Tonight in Atlantic City, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski headlines World Series of Fighting 2 against former UFC whateverweight Anthony Johnson, in a battle that will surely earn the 2013 Minowaman Freak Show Hall of Fame Award. Also on the card: UFC vets Josh Burkman and Aaron Simpson throw down in the welterweight division, Paulo Filho hopefully shows up to fight David Branch, and Marlon Moraes returns from his win over Miguel Torres to face Bellator champ killer Tyson Nam.

Our man Oliver Chan is on the scene tonight at the Revel Casino, where he and photographer Rick Albrecht will be posting round-by-round updates, commentary, and visual aids after the jump, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest from the NBC Sports Network main card broadcast, and let your voices be heard in the comments section.


(Admit it. You kind of missed that tongue.Photo via facebook.com/MMAWorldSeries)

Tonight in Atlantic City, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski headlines World Series of Fighting 2 against former UFC whateverweight Anthony Johnson, in a battle that will surely earn the 2013 Minowaman Freak Show Hall of Fame Award. Also on the card: UFC vets Josh Burkman and Aaron Simpson throw down in the welterweight division, Paulo Filho hopefully shows up to fight David Branch, and Marlon Moraes returns from his win over Miguel Torres to face Bellator champ killer Tyson Nam.

Our man Oliver Chan is on the scene tonight at the Revel Casino, where he and photographer Rick Albrecht will be posting round-by-round updates, commentary, and visual aids after the jump, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest from the NBC Sports Network main card broadcast, and let your voices be heard in the comments section.

Please stand by.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I would like to wish myself a happy 32nd birthday on this lovely Saturday evening where I am sitting cage-side at the World Series of Fighting 2 coming at you LIVE on NBC Sports.  We’ll be bringing some of the action to you live on CagePotato as well.  But first, here are the prelims:

Frank Buenafuente vs. Bill Alego

Alego wins by Rear Naked Choke at 4:26 in the 2nd round

BrensonHansen vs. Tom Marcellino

Hansen wins by KO at 3:24 in the 2nd round

Chris Wade vs. Ozzie Dugulubgov

Ozzie (yeah, not attempting that name again) wins by Unanimous Decision

Igor Gracie vs. Rich Patishnock

Rich Patishnock wins after doctor stoppage (athough Igor clearly had won the round)

Waylon Lowe vs. Cameron Dollar

Waylon Lowe wins via 1st Round KO

Rick Glenn vs. Alexandre Pimentel

Rick Glenn wins via KO at 1:51 in the 3rd round

Danillo Villefort vs. Kris McCray

Villefort via split-decision

Main Event Coming Up!

JZ Calvalcante vs. Justin Gaethje

Well, for this fight, I will definitely be referring to these fighters by their first names.

Round 1

Justin comes in with a couple of leg-kicks.  JZ shoots for the takedown, but Justin defends connects with some heavy fists.  Justin gets JZ  against the fence and hits with some more combos.  JZ eats some knees from the clinch.  Justin slips after some monster knees and a series of punches in bunches, JZ takes the action to the center of the ring.  Justin gets JZ back against the fence and delivers some bone-crunching elbows to the face.  JZ struggles to get off the fence as Justin continues to deliver powerful uppercuts to the face of JZ who is now bloody.

Ref halts the action to have the doctor examin JV’s face which has a rather large gash above the eye.  Doctor comes in to check out the wound and calls the fight.

JZ is pretty pissed that the fight was stopped, understandably since he can still continue, however that giant gash above his eye will only get worse if they continue.

Justin Gaethje wins by Doctor’s Stoppate at 2:27 of the first round

Josh Burkman vs. Aaron Simpson

Simpson coming out to Quiet Riot.

Josh Burkman Twisted Sister.  Lot of 80s hair-band music… We are SO in New Jersey right now.

Round 1

Simpson ties up Burkman against the fence.  Burkman reverses.  The two separate and square off again.  Simpson is bleeding from the mouth.  Burkman drops Simpson to one knee with a vicious right hook.  The two square off again.  Nasty leg-kick by Burkman.  He unleashes on Simpson! Gets him against the fence KNEE TO THE HEAD! Simpson is down and the ref jumps in to end it.

The round started off pretty slow, but ended with a huge exclamation point.

Final decision coming up.

Burkman wins by KO 3:04 in the first

Burkman: “Jon Fitch needs to earn his title-shot”

Paulo Filho vs. David Branch

Branch channeling his inner Wandy with his entrance music.

Round 1

Branch pops Filho with a few jabs before taking hi down to the mat.  He’s in Filho’s half-guard looking to ass.  Branch works some GnP from the half-guard.

There’s certainly some Brooklyn fans here.

Branch is landing some hard shots to Filho’s mid-section.  While in the half-guard.

And there’s a failed attempt to start a “U.S.A.” chant.

Branch passes the guard into the mount, but Filho is able to get Branch in his full guard before any damage can be done.  Branch works some body shts from the guard.  He has Filho up against the cage.  Filo attempts some sweeps from the guard.  Branch is able to defend and works some shots from the guard.

Yep… Here come the boo-birds… Like they can do better.

Branch lands some more shots now from the guard as the round ends.

Round goes to Branch 10-9.

Round 2

The two square off in the center.  Branch drops FIlho with a kick to the midsection.  Filho scrables up and Branch lands some strong combos.  FIlho lands an overhand, but Branch drops him to the knees.  Filho gets up, Branch lands the double leg and pins Filho to the cage.  Filho stands up, but is tied up against the cage.  Ref separates them.

Filho with a left hook.  Branch ducks, double leg into side control.  Branch in the mounted crucifix.  ands some shots to Filho’s head a la Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn.  Filho attempts to rll into Branch.  Filho is looking tired.  Branch flattens Filho out and keeps popping Filho in the head.  Branch attempts to transition into the mount, but goes back to side control.  Filho attempts to hip out, but Branch again flattens out his shoulders.  Branch lands some elbows to the face and body from side control. Now adding knees into the mix.  Branch gets the knee on belly, but moves back to side control.  Branch goes to north-south and lands more body shots to Filho’s midsection.  End of round 2.

Branch dominates the second round.  Easily another 10-9 to the Renzo Gracie fighter.

Round 3

Filho attempts a spinning back kick, but it’s stuffed by branch who gts into th mount and lands some vicious ground and pound.  Filho gets Branch into his half guard as Branch continues to land some powerful elbows.  Filho can’t seem to get out of the bottom position as Branch continues to land some powerful body shots while in the half guard.  Filho gets Branch into the full-guard and lands some elbows, but Branch continues to control Filho from inside the guard.

Ref stands the up and the crowd cheers.

Branch gets Filho into the clinch against the fence and lands some knees.  The separate and a left kick by Branch.  Branch gets Filho against the fence again, knees to the face and body.  Branch gets the double leg and some more ground and pound and the round ends.

Branch easily takes the third once again 10-9.

Official decision:  David Branch wins by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Tyson Nam vs. Marlon Moraes

Moraes coming out to some 90s Nirvana.  I like.

Round 1

Tyson and Moraes feel each other out for a bit.  Moraes starts to throw some heavy hands, but does not connect.  He lands a strong leg kick on Nam.  Nam comes in with a cross, Moraes steps away and lands a hard body kick.  Morares and Nam exchange a few punches.  Moraes with a nice combo.  Moraes takes Nam down, but unable to capitalize as Nam quickly gets to his feet.  Moraes lands a ROUND HOUSE  Kick to the head and Nam is OUT!!!!

Official Decision: Moraes wins by KO 2:35 in the 1st Round

 

Andrei Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson

Get ready for the main event.  Quick note, thanks to CagePotato for this opportunity to come to the fights in person.  Been here since 6 and been running on coffee and EBoost all night.

A quick shout-out to the comment section specifically “Thumblaster” for the comment that made me chuckle: “Rumble got his nickname because that’s what his stomach always used to do when he would fight welterweight”.  Congrats.  You win my approval.

Rumble Johnson coming out to some more Nirvana! This time it’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.  I’m pumped! Looking at Rumble one must wonder how he once fought at 170!

Andrei is coming out to “Eye of the Tiger.  The crowd here is definitely pumped now!

Round 1

Rumble comes in with some heavy hands and kicks.  He is definitely pushing the pace and looking good.  Rumble lands a nice combo.    Andrei returns with a strong jab.  Rumble throws to head-kicks, but fails to connect.  Rumble with a nice body-kick.  Andrei with a few body jabs and has Rumble backing up a bit.  Rumble comes in with a combo, goes for a double leg and has Andrei against the cage.  Andrei has the overhook, but Rubmle continues to press him against the cage.  Rumble throws a few knees to Andrei’s legs.  Ref separates.

Andrei with a nice combo.  Rumble goes for the single-leg, but Andrei defends and now has Rumble against the cage.  Andrei throws a few knees as the two pummel.  Again, the Ref separates and the two are squaring off throwing punches in the center.

Rumble knocks Andrei down.  Lands a few punches.  He has Andrei against the cage as the bell rings.

Solid round by Rumble 10-9.

Round 2

Both fighters connect with some powerful shots to the head.  Rumble has Andrei against the cage looking for a take-down.

Once again, the ref moves them to the center of the ring and they square off.  Andrei lands some nice jabs.

Rumble comes in with a few overhands and connects.  Andrei counters with a nice uppercut.  Some front kicks to Rumble’s body.  The two exchange some more.  Rumble goes for the take-down, Andrei sprawls and the two press up against the cage.  Andrei reverses and now has Rumble against the cage.  The two exchanges some knees and continue to pummel.  Andrei catches Rumble in the jewels with a knee and a Rumble is given some time to recover.

Rubmle is back up, they touch gloves and back at it.  Rumble comes in with some strong overhands shoots in for the take-down and once again has Andrei against the cage.  Rumble gets the take down.  Andrei rolls out, Rumble has control of his back.  Andrei is back up against the cage.  Rumble going for the take-down as Andrei lands some hammer-fists.  Andrei sprawls, defending the take-down and Rumble presses him against the cage.  Round 2 over.

Bit closer round.  I’m going to side with Andrei on this, but it could go either way.  10-9 the Pitbull.

Round 3

Rumble goes in for an overhand and Andrei counters.  The two exchange punches and now Rumble has Andrei against the cage.  Andrei lands some strikes to the boy.  The Ref resets once again.

Rumble with a nice head-kick.  Andrei answers with a front kick to the body.  Rumble lands a nice cross to Andrei’s chin that definitely would kill a normal man.  Rumble has Andrei pressed against the cage… Just waiting for another reset now.  Andrei reverses and has Rumble pressed against the cage.  The two exchange knees to the boy.  The two make their way to the middle.  Some hard hits are exchanged and Rumble has Andrei against the cage.  Andrei reverses and the two make their way back to the center.  More hard hits are exchanged.  Andrei’s mouth is open ans he connects with some nice body shots and one to Rumble’s Chin.  Rumble goes for the single-leg, but gives up on it.  Goes for another one and the two are against the cage.  Andrei with some body shots and that’s the third round.

A close round, but I think Andrei landed the better shots.  Tough one for me to call, but I’m leaning to Andrei in a close 10-9 round.  Official decision coming up now.

Official Decision:  Anthony Johnson (29-28 all)… I was waaaaaaaaay off!

Well, folks, thank you for joining me on my birthday (although technically now it isn’t my birthday anymore).  Great fights put together by the WSOF.  Hopefully more to come.  Thanks to Ben and the rest of the CP staff for giving me this opportunity.  Thanks to my Rick Albrecht for his great photog work.  Thanks to EBoost for keeping me going for 6 hours straight.  Don’t forget to donate to Nick Newell’s favorite charity, Tap Cancer Out, by visiting my fundraiser page at www.stayclassy.org/oliverchan

WSOF 2: Live Results, Play-by-Play and Fight Card Highlights

Saturday night, the World Series of Fighting returns to television for its sophomore card. With a featured bout between former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson, fans expected a massive knockout to cap off their evening.Although the main…

Saturday night, the World Series of Fighting returns to television for its sophomore card. With a featured bout between former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson, fans expected a massive knockout to cap off their evening.

Although the main event went to a decision, the knockout nearly came at the end of Round 1 after Johnson badly hurt Arlovski and attempted to swarm before the bell rang. Ultimately, he won unanimous decision in a fight that was scored 29-28 across the board.

In the evening’s co-main event, Marlon Moraes proved himself to be one of the top bantamweight prospects on the planet when he knocked out Tyson Nam in less than three minutes.

Also in action was former WEC champion Paulo Filho, who was thoroughly manhandled by UFC veteran David Branch en route to a decision loss.

The full results of the card are below.

 

Main Card Results: 

Anthony Johnson defeated Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Marlon Moraes defeated Tyson Nam at 2:55 of Round 1 via KO (head kick and punches)

David Branch defeated Paulo Filho via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Josh Burkman defeated Aaron Simpson at 3:04 of Round 1 via KO (knee and punches)

Justin Gaethje defeated JZ Cavalcante at 2:27 of Round 1 via TKO (doctor stoppage due to cut)

 

Preliminary Card Results:

Danillo Villefort defeated Kris McCray via split decision.

Rick Glenn defeated Alexandre Pimentel at 1:51 of Round 3 via KO (punches)

Waylon Lowe defeated Cameron Dollar at 2:58 of Round 1 via KO (punches)

Richard Patishnock defeated Igor Gracie at the end of Round 1 via TKO (doctor stoppage)

Ozzy Dugulubgov defeated Chris Wade via unanimous decision.

Brensen Hansen defeated Tom Marcellino at 3:24 of Round 2 via TKO (flying knee and punches)

Bill Algeo defeated Frank Buenafuente at 4:36 of Round 2 via submission (rear naked choke)

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

[VIDEO] Anthony Johnson is a Round Mound of Ground-n-Pound in Extended ‘WSOF 2? Preview


(“Why yes, I did smell what The Rock was cooking. In fact, I went back for seconds. Why do you ask?”) 

“Anthony Johnson is trying to shed the tarnish of being one of the best welterweights in the world…that couldn’t make the weight.”

In the opening moments of the extended preview for this weekend’s second World Series of Fighting event, we are informed of the above dilemma facing former UFC contender Anthony Johnson by a silky-voiced narrator — over a melancholic piano soundtrack of course, because emotions. And while this bit of info would usually serve as the precursor to an inspiring tale of Johnson’s welterweight redemption, it kind of loses its pop when you realize that Johnson is now fighting at upwards of 50 pounds heavier than he was in the UFC.

But it is Johnson’s horizontal expansion that takes center stage in the above preview, understandably yet somewhat still puzzlingly juxtaposed with Andrei Arlovski’s own tale of hopeful redemption. It’s a shame that Dana White has already publicly written off the fight as “not legit,” or the (implied) idea that we could see “The Pitbull” back in the UFC would probably hold a lot more water in the above preview. Ditto for the idea that Arlovski could do so by beating up a former welterweight who has been fighting at light heavyweight for less than a year now. Then again, if you’re like Sherdog’s Jordan Breen, who is also featured in the video, you probably think “weight classes” and “champions” of said “weight classes” are meaningless restrictions meant for little more than depriving MMA fans for the fights they truly want to see (SUPER HLUK TOURNEY NEVER DIE!).

Featuring some highlights of Johnson and Arlovski crushing their respective cans at WSoF 1, as well as the aforementioned interviews with everyone from Eddie Alvarez to renowned trainer Mike Winkeljohn, check out an extended preview of WSoF 2 after the jump, along with a full rundown of the card.


(“Why yes, I did smell what The Rock was cooking. In fact, I went back for seconds. Why do you ask?”) 

“Anthony Johnson is trying to shed the tarnish of being one of the best welterweights in the world…that couldn’t make the weight.”

In the opening moments of the extended preview for this weekend’s second World Series of Fighting event, we are informed of the above dilemma facing former UFC contender Anthony Johnson by a silky-voiced narrator — over a melancholic piano soundtrack of course, because emotions. And while this bit of info would usually serve as the precursor to an inspiring tale of Johnson’s welterweight redemption, it kind of loses its pop when you realize that Johnson is now fighting at upwards of 50 pounds heavier than he was in the UFC.

But it is Johnson’s horizontal expansion that takes center stage in the above preview, understandably yet somewhat still puzzlingly juxtaposed with Andrei Arlovski’s own tale of hopeful redemption. It’s a shame that Dana White has already publicly written off the fight as “not legit,” or the (implied) idea that we could see “The Pitbull” back in the UFC would probably hold a lot more water in the above preview. Ditto for the idea that Arlovski could do so by beating up a former welterweight who has been fighting at light heavyweight for less than a year now. Then again, if you’re like Sherdog’s Jordan Breen, who is also featured in the video, you probably think “weight classes” and “champions” of said “weight classes” are meaningless restrictions meant for little more than depriving MMA fans for the fights they truly want to see (SUPER HLUK TOURNEY NEVER DIE!).

Featuring some highlights of Johnson and Arlovski crushing their respective cans at WSoF 1, as well as the aforementioned interviews with everyone from Eddie Alvarez to renowned trainer Mike Winkeljohn, check out an extended preview of WSoF 2 after the jump, along with a full rundown of the card.

Date: March 23, 2013
Location: Atlantic City, N.J.
Venue: Revel Atlantic City
Broadcast: NBC Sports Network

MAIN CARD (NBC Sports Network, 9:30 p.m. ET)
-Andrei Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson
-Marlon Moraes vs. Tyson Nam
-Josh Burkman vs. Aaron Simpson
-Dave Branch vs. Paulo Filho
-Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Gaethje

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised, 7 p.m. ET)
-Kris McCray vs. Danillo Villefort
-Igor Gracie vs. Richard Patishnock
-Cameron Dollar vs. Waylon Lowe
-Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Chris Wade
-Rick Glenn vs. Alexandre Pimentel

J. Jones

Anthony Johnson Stands by the Blackzilians, Team Doesn’t Care What Anybody Says

World Series of Fighting main event competitor Anthony Johnson has become a professional when it comes to tuning out the interference that seems to always buzz around his head. During his days in the UFC, when Johnson struggled to make weight while cut…

World Series of Fighting main event competitor Anthony Johnson has become a professional when it comes to tuning out the interference that seems to always buzz around his head.

During his days in the UFC, when Johnson struggled to make weight while cutting down to 170 pounds, he was routinely slammed on social networks, MMA fan forums and by journalists alike for not hitting the mark on weigh-in day.

Eventually, Johnson had to admit to himself that his body was being brutalized with the huge weight cuts that he had done for years, but the decision to move to light heavyweight was done because he knew it was the right time and not because he got tired of hearing everyone complain about it.

So after a successful campaign at 205 pounds, which included a knockout win in his World Series of Fighting debut, Johnson opted to take a fight at heavyweight against former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. But as he gets ready for this fight, there’s a certain negative buzz that’s started to swirl again.

This time it’s about Johnson’s home camp in Florida and his teammates at the Blackzilians.

The team, which was brought together by Authentic Sports Management owner Glenn Robinson, has experienced some definite growing pains over the last few months, with many of its high-profile fighters suffering losses. From Rashad Evans to Alistair Overeem, the Blackzilians have struggled lately, and immediately, the rash judgment was made that the team is somehow a failure.

Every team in MMA goes through peaks and valleys and the Blackzilians are no different, and Johnson stands beside his teammates through victory and defeat. 

“In this sport, you’re going to have your losses. That’s just the name of the sport, nobody can stay on top forever,” Johnson told Bleacher Report. “Even though we’ve had our losses, the team still trains hard and we still do our best and that’s all that matters. We don’t care about what everybody says. We know people are going to talk—let them talk, and we just keep it moving. You win some, you lose some; it’s all about can you bounce back.”

It’s easy for any fighter, or team for that matter, to let negativity seep in and infect what they are trying to do on a larger scale. Like a plague that sweeps through a village, Johnson refuses to let talk about his team serve as a black cloud to his preparation.

He knows how good his teammates are at the Blackzilians, and no team is going to win every fight, nor will this current downtrodden time continue forever. The key, as Johnson puts it, is to know how to tune out the negativity and just stay focused on the goal at hand.

“The world is built around being negative whenever something goes wrong. We’re not negative on each other,” said Johnson. “If one person loses, we all lose. We don’t see it as ‘oh, that guy lost’—no, we see it as we all lost. It’s a team thing, a family thing. No matter what, though, we keep pushing.

“We don’t care about what anybody has to say.”

Johnson’s next opponent has gone through many of the same trials and tribulations. 

Less than seven years ago, Andrei Arlovski was standing on top of the world as the UFC heavyweight champion, but then he suffered a four-fight losing streak that had people calling for him to retire. Arlovski refused to listen and fired back with four wins in his next five fights with one ending in a no contest.

Just like the criticism his team has received, Johnson knows Arlovski won’t be defined by those that say he’s washed up or a shell of the heavyweight he once was when he ruled the UFC. Johnson knows Arlovski is a very dangerous opponent, and he’s approaching this fight like he’s the best in the world.

“Father time has kicked in. He’s not that same fighter that he was before, but he’s still a very dangerous man,” Johnson said about Arlovski. “He’s got his losses, and I’ve seen him when he first got on the scene in the UFC and was the champ. I saw when he won the belt and when he lost it, to his knockouts, but never judge a book by its cover. 

“Just because he’s had his ups and downs, which fighter hasn’t? I just think about what that man can do to me, not what has happened to him.”

Whether Arlovski is a new man or the same man, and whether the entire Blackzilian team wins or loses in their next fights, Johnson is staying focused on what matters most and that’s coming away with a victory on Saturday night. 

 

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

What, You Don’t Want to Read About the Time Vince McMahon Challenged Dana White to a Fight?


(I have nothing funny to say, so instead I’ll remind everyone that this guy was an ECW champion, and that makes me feel empty inside.)

For a guy who doesn’t believe that MMA is a threat to his business, WWE owner Vince McMahon is certainly very conscious of its existence. In fact, I’m willing to bet that McMahon is secretly a pretty big MMA fan. In the past, he has basically taken credit for the MMA success of Brock Lesnar, financed a movie about a mentally-challenged MMA fighter (I’m being dead serious), paid tribute to Sonnen vs. Silva II during one of his company’s matches, and once tried to pay Mike Goldberg to no-show his UFC announcing duties. What hardcore MMA fan hasn’t thought about doing that last one?

So I guess it should come as no surprise then that according to Dana White, Vince McMahon once challenged him to a fight. As he told the media leading up to tonight’s UFC 158:


(I have nothing funny to say, so instead I’ll remind everyone that this guy was an ECW champion, and that makes me feel empty inside.)

For a guy who doesn’t believe that MMA is a threat to his business, WWE owner Vince McMahon is certainly very conscious of its existence. In fact, I’m willing to bet that McMahon is secretly a pretty big MMA fan. In the past, he has basically taken credit for the MMA success of Brock Lesnar, financed a movie about a mentally-challenged MMA fighter (I’m being dead serious), paid tribute to Sonnen vs. Silva II during one of his company’s matches, and once tried to pay Mike Goldberg to no-show his UFC announcing duties. What hardcore MMA fan hasn’t thought about doing that last one?

So I guess it should come as no surprise then that according to Dana White, Vince McMahon once challenged him to a fight. As he told the media leading up to tonight’s UFC 158:

I’ve never said this before ever in an interview, anywhere. If Vince hears this, he’s going to go nuts. Vince is too old. He’s too old, which he won’t think he is, and he’ll go crazy. He wanted to do that one time. Vince wanted to fight me. Swear to God. Called me up and said, ‘Let’s do it. We can either do it in the UFC, or let’s do it at Wrestlemania [Author Note: It would have been at Wrestlemania 27].’ And I said, ‘You are crazy, man!’ Vince is- look, a lot of people talk about Vince- I’ve always said it, and I’ll say it again: I respect Vince very much. But Vince is too old to be fighting anybody.

Wait, you mean the world almost lost Snooki: Professional Wrestler just so Vince McMahon could promote a boring, “normal” fight against Dana White? THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN…well, okay, I could have lived with that. And not that it matters, but McMahon once featured Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn during Wrestlemania, so the blatant publicity stunt wouldn’t have been the first “real” fight featured on the WWE’s biggest annual pay-per-view.

Interestingly enough, Dana White also spoke about the upcoming WSoF bout between Anthony Johnson and Andrei Arlovski, and let’s just say he isn’t a fan of the match. Via MMAMania:

“The problem with that fight is, it’s not a legitimate fight to me. For Arlovksi to want to get back into the UFC, he’s a heavyweight fighting a 170-pounder, you know what I mean? “Rumble” has trouble making weight, but he’s not a heavyweight. I don’t know man. I just don’t know. I like Andrei Arlovksi and when he left the UFC, there were no issues whatsoever. We respect him, his management. The way that they handled everything back then — there are a lot of guys who leave and do it the wrong way and burn bridges and stuff like that. Like Tim Sylvia. Lot’s of people talk about Tim Sylvia. Tim Sylvia couldn’t have been a worse fucking guy when he was here and how he left and how he did it and everything else. Then you look at a guy like Arlovski who couldn’t have left the company in a better way. Just because you leave, doesn’t mean it’s on bad terms. I just don’t know if Arlovski is at that level and a fight against “Rumble” Johnson isn’t going to make us go, ‘holy shit, Arlovski is going to be back in the UFC.’”

I’m not sure I agree with the notion that a guy who is the same size as Andrei Arlovski isn’t a real heavyweight because he used to destroy his health by cutting to welterweight, but then again, I’m also not expecting Dana White to compliment his competition, either.

Make sure to come back tonight for coverage of what we can all agree are real fights, as we liveblog UFC 158.

@SethFalvo

Andrei Arlovski vs Anthony Johnson: Head to Toe Breakdown

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will welcome fellow UFC castaway Anthony Johnson to the heavyweight division on March 23rd, when the two headline World Series of Fighting 2.Johnson, who burst onto the scene in 2007 with a startling 13-s…

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will welcome fellow UFC castaway Anthony Johnson to the heavyweight division on March 23rd, when the two headline World Series of Fighting 2.

Johnson, who burst onto the scene in 2007 with a startling 13-second knockout of Chad Reiner at UFC Fight Night 10, has endured some extreme weight issues.

His promotional debut occurred at 170 pounds. Weight problems eventually forced a climb to 185 pounds. However, middleweight seemed to leave “Rumble” drained as well, and he recently opted to move to light heavyweight, where he’s rattled off a series of impressive victories, recently capped off by a violent knockout of D.J. Linderman at World Series of Fighting 1.

Apparently 205 pounds isn’t going to cut it (pun intended) for Johnson either. In just over one month, he’ll test his talents at heavyweight, where he’s not likely to be quite the behemoth he’s been thus far,

Whether Johnson is capable of overwhelming Arlovski or not remains to be seen. The two men are at completely different career junctions, but Johnson presents a complete mystery, having never tangled with the sport’s largest competitors.

Who looks to have the edge in this one, you ask? Let’s take a look.

Begin Slideshow