Andrei Arlovski showed resiliency for the second fight in a row Saturday night in the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 5 event in New Jersey, this time coming away with a win. Last March, Arlovski had his jaw broken after taking extra punches from Anthony Johnson when the referee allowed the first round to go on past the bell but fought on for the duration of the bout, ultimately losing a decision.
Saturday night, the recently un-retired Mike Kyle dropped Arlovski twice, once in the first and once in the third round, but “The Pitbull” came back each time and scored enough himself to be awarded winning scores of 29-28 by all three ringside judges. Arlovski took the fight on a month’s notice after Johnson himself was injured and had to pull out of the fight with Kyle.
“It was a great fight,” Arlovski said after the bout. “[Kyle is] a top fighter, and I really appreciate him for this fight.
In the WSOF 5 co-main event, middleweight David Branch won a decision over Danillo Villefort on the strength of dominating take downs and ground grappling. With the win, Branch has earned a shot at the WSOF middleweight belt. His opponent for the inaugural middleweight title bout has not yet been announced.
In heavyweight action, Derrick Mehmen knocked out Rolles Gracie in the second round. Throughout the first round, Gracie was able to stay safe and use his grappling effectively against Mehmen but in the second stanza, his opponent connected with a clean right hand on the feet that put Rolles out in unintentionally hilarious fashion.
In a strange turn of events, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board officials called off a middleweight tournament bout between Elvis “The King” Mutapcic and Jesse “JT Money” Taylor just moments before the two were scheduled to hit the cage.
According the commission, Mutapcic took a prescription pill that had not been cleared for use.
(Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski [right] connects with a right on Mike Kyle Saturday night at WSOF 5 | Photo by Lucas Noonan/WSOF)
Andrei Arlovski showed resiliency for the second fight in a row Saturday night in the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 5 event in New Jersey, this time coming away with a win. Last March, Arlovski had his jaw broken after taking extra punches from Anthony Johnson when the referee allowed the first round to go on past the bell but fought on for the duration of the bout, ultimately losing a decision.
Saturday night, the recently un-retired Mike Kyle dropped Arlovski twice, once in the first and once in the third round, but “The Pitbull” came back each time and scored enough himself to be awarded winning scores of 29-28 by all three ringside judges. Arlovski took the fight on a month’s notice after Johnson himself was injured and had to pull out of the fight with Kyle.
“It was a great fight,” Arlovski said after the bout. “[Kyle is] a top fighter, and I really appreciate him for this fight.
In the WSOF 5 co-main event, middleweight David Branch won a decision over Danillo Villefort on the strength of dominating take downs and ground grappling. With the win, Branch has earned a shot at the WSOF middleweight belt. His opponent for the inaugural middleweight title bout has not yet been announced.
In heavyweight action, Derrick Mehmen knocked out Rolles Gracie in the second round. Throughout the first round, Gracie was able to stay safe and use his grappling effectively against Mehmen but in the second stanza, his opponent connected with a clean right hand on the feet that put Rolles out in unintentionally hilarious fashion.
In a strange turn of events, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board officials called off a middleweight tournament bout between Elvis “The King” Mutapcic and Jesse “JT Money” Taylor just moments before the two were scheduled to hit the cage.
According the commission, Mutapcic took a prescription pill that had not been cleared for use.
“There were some prescriptions that weren’t given to our doctors during the physicals and that weren’t approved by us, the commission,” a commission official said. “So since we don’t know what they are and what they do, we canceled the fight.
Mutapcic insisted he hadn’t taken any pills and that the inspecting New Jersey state commission officer may have mistaken him for his manager, who is currently using medication for a heart condition.
“I really don’t know what happened, what [the inspector] saw,” Mutapcic said. “She might have been taking some medication, herself. I put in a good 10-week training camp. I worked my ass off. I know Taylor’s ready. I’m not sure if she mistaken me for my manager, who has a heart prescription. He was the one that had it. We’re all dressed the same – same T-shirt, same hat. I mean, there’s four of us, and she’s pointing me out, that I took it. I say I’ll take a blood test. I’ll give a hair sample if they need it. I’ve got nothing in my system. I’m completely clean.”
Full WSOF 5 Results
Main Card
-Andrei Arlovski def. Mike Kyle via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Dave Branch def. Danillo Villefort via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Derrick Mehmen def. Rolles Gracie via KO, 2:40 of round 2
-Georgi Karakhanyan def. Waylon Lowe via submission (guillotine choke), 3:37 of round 1
Preliminary Card
-Rick Glenn def. Artur Rofi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Jimmie Rivera def. Sidemar Honorio via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
-Richard Patishnock def. Gregor Gracie via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
-Ozzy Dugulubgov def. Andrew Osbourne via submission (achilles lock), 1:12 of round 2
-Neiman Gracie def. Darren Costa via submission (armbar), 3:57 of round 1
Eight seconds.
In life, eight seconds doesn’t isn’t really any grand significance of time, unless you just so happen to be a bullrider. Beyond that, however, most people wouldn’t look at eight seconds as anything more than a blink of time.
That’s not t…
Eight seconds.
In life, eight seconds doesn’t isn’t really any grand significance of time, unless you just so happen to be a bullrider. Beyond that, however, most people wouldn’t look at eight seconds as anything more than a blink of time.
That’s not the case for former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Eight seconds was a very important amount of time for him, given what happened in his last fight.
Arlovski was battling Anthony Johnson in World Series of Fighting back in March when the first round was supposed to be over. Suspiciously, there was no final bell or horn to actually stop the action. Instead, Johnson cracked Arlovski with a huge punch that sent him tumbling back towards the canvas.
It was later revealed that the shot broke the Belarus native’s jaw.
Now to make it clear, the punch was clean, there was nothing done illegally from Johnson. The only problem is the punch shouldn’t have happened.
See, the punch from Johnson that connected flush with Arlovski’s jaw came during an eight second period after the first round should have ended.
A study of the first round between Arlovski and Johnson reveals that the round lasted five minutes and eight seconds, and the round is, of course, supposed to be over at the five minute mark.
Numerous emails to the New Jersey State Athletic Commission asking for a statement on the matter were exchanged just after the fight, but there was never an answer, excuse or reason why the eight second overage occurred.
Arlovski and his camp knew it happened, and normally those extra seconds ticking away probably wouldn’t matter—if not for the shattered jaw that happened during the extra time.
Now Arlovski is headed back to the scene of the crime. His fight this weekend at World Series of Fighting also takes place in New Jersey, where the same commission will oversee the proceedings.
Not wishing to stir the pot any further nearly six months after the incident happened, Arlovski takes the high road when talking about the New Jersey State Athletic Commission but it’s obvious that the sore feelings aren’t fading away just yet.
“In some respects the athletic commission in the last fight cost me health, it cost me money, it cost me time, so of course I’m happy to fight. I’m very happy to face Mike Kyle,” Arlovski said about his next fight. “For now I’m going to keep my mouth shut. You can see all the reasons the athletic commission was wrong, but I accept the athletic commission.”
As the conversation moves forward, there’s an angry tone in Arlovski’s voice because no matter how much he doesn’t want to say anything that could land him in hot water with the commission for his next fight, there are still bitter feelings about what happened in the fight with Johnson.
There’s no way to know if the fight would have gone any differently for Arlovski, but he’s haunted by the fact that those eight additional seconds in the round cost him a broken jaw and obviously lessened his chances of coming back in rounds two and three.
As he steps into his next fight against Mike Kyle this weekend, Arlovski plans on making it very easy on the timekeeper and the commission in general.
“F—k it, I’m ready to fight. I’m not going to leave this up to the New Jersey Athletic Commission or any athletic commission any more, f—k it,” Arlovski said with a growl. “I will try to hurt him. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”
If there is one other thorn in Arlovski’s side heading into the fight against Kyle it’s the perception out there that he has developed a glass jaw from being knocked out a few times in his career. It puts him into a rage when people try to say he can’t take a punch anymore and just can’t survive in the striking game with the elite punchers in MMA.
The one positive Arlovski says he can take away from the way his last fight ended is that he ended up with a broken jaw in the first round and still made it all the way to the final horn without ever giving up and never going down.
That’s for his own personal edification, by the way, because he doesn’t seem to care too much what anyone says about him. Arlovski does enjoy proving people wrong, however, and he wants to do it again this weekend.
“I think I will shut many f—king mouths who said I lost because I have a weak chin, a glass jaw,” Arlovski said. “I fought two more f—king rounds with a broken jaw. I don’t need to prove anything to anybody.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
(“It’s a trap when you’re on top of the world. When I was champion, I had people who would go out with me every day of the week. After I had two, three losses, people disappeared.” / Photo via Sherdog)
As he prepares to bounce back into the win column, the Pitbull took some time to speak with us about this weekend’s fight, as well as the highs and lows of a memorable career. Enjoy…
CagePotato.com: What do you think about Mike Kyle as an opponent? Andrei Arlovski: He’s very quick. Has quick hands. Very quick jab, good right hand. I just have to be ready for his speed. That’s why I train a lot right now with Jon Jones — he’s my main sparring partner. We try to help each other. He’s a hard worker, he’s a good striker, so it’s good to work with him.
CP: Your last fight against Anthony Johnson was a painful one. AA: Yes, my jaw was broken in the fight. The referee didn’t watch the time [letting the fight continue eight seconds past the five-minute first round] and Johnson broke my jaw in two places. Every punch in my face after that gave me that feeling of putting electricity in my body. Of course, I’m not happy that I lost, but I’m very happy that I shut all the fucking mouths who said I have a weak chin. I was able to fight two more rounds with a broken jaw.
CP: How big of a problem is bad officiating, bad time-keeping, and bad refereeing in MMA?
AA: To be honest with you, I can’t make any comments right now. Maybe later. I’m sorry. I just hope this time, the referee is going to be more professional.
CP: You’ve made an impressive career comeback after losing four straight fights in 2009-2011. How tough was that losing streak for you mentally?
AA: It was really tough mentally, it was really tough physically. I was asking myself, “What’s wrong? Every time, I do everything right.” I train right, I was on a schedule. You know what my old trainer told me? He said “You need to retire.”
I just gave a call to Greg Jackson, I said “Listen, should I retire or not?” He said, “Absolutely not! Just come to my camp and we’ll start over again.” Greg Jackson supported me a lot, he gave me hope.
I told [Greg] face to face, “I don’t need any favors from you. Do you think I can be champion again?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you think I have potential?” he said, “Yes.” And hearing that was enough for me.
(“It’s a trap when you’re on top of the world. When I was champion, I had people who would go out with me every day of the week. After I had two, three losses, people disappeared.” / Photo via Sherdog)
As he prepares to bounce back into the win column, the Pitbull took some time to speak with us about this weekend’s fight, as well as the highs and lows of a memorable career. Enjoy…
CagePotato.com: What do you think about Mike Kyle as an opponent? Andrei Arlovski: He’s very quick. Has quick hands. Very quick jab, good right hand. I just have to be ready for his speed. That’s why I train a lot right now with Jon Jones — he’s my main sparring partner. We try to help each other. He’s a hard worker, he’s a good striker, so it’s good to work with him.
CP: Your last fight against Anthony Johnson was a painful one. AA: Yes, my jaw was broken in the fight. The referee didn’t watch the time [letting the fight continue eight seconds past the five-minute first round] and Johnson broke my jaw in two places. Every punch in my face after that gave me that feeling of putting electricity in my body. Of course, I’m not happy that I lost, but I’m very happy that I shut all the fucking mouths who said I have a weak chin. I was able to fight two more rounds with a broken jaw.
CP: How big of a problem is bad officiating, bad time-keeping, and bad refereeing in MMA?
AA: To be honest with you, I can’t make any comments right now. Maybe later. I’m sorry. I just hope this time, the referee is going to be more professional.
CP: You’ve made an impressive career comeback after losing four straight fights in 2009-2011. How tough was that losing streak for you mentally?
AA: It was really tough mentally, it was really tough physically. I was asking myself, “What’s wrong? Every time, I do everything right.” I train right, I was on a schedule. You know what my old trainer told me? He said “You need to retire.”
I just gave a call to Greg Jackson, I said “Listen, should I retire or not?” He said, “Absolutely not! Just come to my camp and we’ll start over again.” Greg Jackson supported me a lot, he gave me hope.
I told [Greg] face to face, “I don’t need any favors from you. Do you think I can be champion again?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you think I have potential?” he said, “Yes.” And hearing that was enough for me.
Now I train with Greg Jackson. I have a couple more guys in Chicago, Dino Costeas, he has been my jiu-jitsu trainer from day one.
CP: You worked with Freddie Roach before facing Fedor Emelianenko. Shogun Rua recently worked with Freddie Roach and lost to Chael Sonnen. Do you think Shogun made a mistake, or do you think Roach helped him fine-tune his boxing game?
AA: I definitely learned something from Freddie Roach, training boxing. When I used to train with Freddie Roach, that hurt my relationship with my other trainers. It didn’t really work well for me. I don’t know, it was some experience, and that’s it.
CP: In Belarus, what were some of the problems you experienced growing up? AA: I didn’t have many problems, except all the kids, all the time bullied me. Because I was a bigger boy, I was bullied. Later, I fought with everyone, all the time, everywhere. At age 16, I went to boys academy, about that time, I started training in Sambo, and became world champion in Sambo, it kind of gave me a way to follow MMA to UFC. Everything happens for a reason.
CP: At one time, you pursued a career in law enforcement. Why did you keep coming back to MMA? AA: I train hard, I like to fight and more important — I haven’t yet reached my goal. I want to be champion again, and I don’t think it’s impossible to reach my goal.
CP: What’s next after Mike Kyle? AA: I have no idea. I think back in the day, I was supposed to fight Mike Kyle in the UFC, but it didn’t happen. I just have to beat him.
CP: Wes Sims recently told Jack Brown, “Unfortunately, the fighting life isn’t for everyone. Many people see it as something glamorous, but the truth is that while struggling to make it to the next level, you are literally a day or two away from losing your house.” Is it tough to find stability in a sport with so many extremes?
AA: Definitely, it’s a trap when you’re on top of the world. When I was champion in the UFC, I had a good paycheck. I had people who would go out with me Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday — every day of the week. After I had two, three losses, those people disappeared. I have a few guys around me who have been around me through all my victories and all my losses, I consider them my true friends.
CP: With hindsight, would you have let the same people into your entourage?
AA: To be honest with you, I don’t know how to answer. Definitely, I’m not going to bring again, like, 40 people to Affliction and the UFC shows. Just a few people — coaches and my wife, that’s it.
CP: Tell me a little more about your relationship with Jon Jones. Is he a nice guy?
AA: My personality is kind of weird. I need to take some time to get closer to people. But he’s an essentially nice person.
CP: Do you ever give him advice, considering that you’ve been in sport much longer than he has?
AA: I don’t like to give advice because you have to be responsible for the results. For somebody, it’s going to work, for someone [else], it’s not going to work. To each, his own.
CP: Have you thought about another fight against Tim Sylvia? [Arlovski went 1-2 against Sylvia in the UFC and had a no-contest against Sylvia in August 2012 at ONE FC].
AA: I don’t know if someone is going to be interested in putting on a match between us again. If some fans want to see Arlovski against Sylvia, maybe, I don’t know. I am not really interested in having a rematch with Tim at this time.
CP: Any other final words for our readers?
Thank you to all my fans who have been with me through all my victories and losses and I’ll be back on September 14. See you soon.
Former King of the Cage multi-division champion Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez picked up his first win in his past five contests at a KOTC event yesterday, submitting Andenilson Clementino (yes, that’s his real name) with a rear-naked choke. And that is where the good news ends.
You see, it turns out that Clementino was “mad-dogging” Lopez’s wife backstage before their fight, and believe it or not, Lopez didn’t take too kindly to it. So after securing a rear-naked choke midway through the second round, Lopez decided to teach Clementino a lesson in respect the Babalu Sobral way, by refusing to release the choke even after his opponent had tapped and referee Mike Beltran intervened. Even worse, when he finally decided to let go of the choke, Lopez proceeded to finish things off with a completely unnecessary hammerfist to his downed opponent before walking away.
Not since Mike Kyle vs. Brian Olsen have we seen such a blatant disregard for both the unified rules of MMA and the safety of a fellow fighter, but don’t worry, because Lopez had his reasons, you guys. Or so he tells MMA Prime’s Aaron Tru in a post-fight video which we’ve thrown after the jump.
(Gifs courtesy of @GrabakaHitman.)
File this one under your all-time scumbag moves.
Former King of the Cage multi-division champion Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez picked up his first win in his past five contests at a KOTC event yesterday, submitting Andenilson Clementino (yes, that’s his real name) with a rear-naked choke. And that is where the good news ends.
You see, it turns out that Clementino was “mad-dogging” Lopez’s wife backstage before their fight, and believe it or not, Lopez didn’t take too kindly to it. So after securing a rear-naked choke midway through the second round, Lopez decided to teach Clementino a lesson in respect the Babalu Sobral way, by refusing to release the choke even after his opponent had tapped and referee Mike Beltran intervened. Even worse, when he finally decided to let go of the choke, Lopez proceeded to finish things off with a completely unnecessary hammerfist to his downed opponent before walking away.
Not since Mike Kyle vs. Brian Olsen have we seen such a blatant disregard for both the unified rules of MMA and the safety of a fellow fighter, but don’t worry, because Lopez had his reasons, you guys. Or so he tells MMA Prime’s Aaron Tru in a post-fight video which we’ve thrown after the jump.
“It’s a violent sport and I’m here to show the violent part of it.”
That’s all we’re willing to quote from what may be the most ridiculous defense for a cheap shot in combat sports history.
As Tru mentioned, Lopez has already been indefinitely suspended by the California State Athletic Commission and is likely to receive several hefty fines for his reprehensible act in the near future. But perhaps the craziest thing to come out of this story was that everyone else involved in the fight, from the ringside announcers to the referee, all but refused to acknowledge what had just happened in the moments afterward. Twitter user Fight_Ghost was liveblogging the event and described the bewildering scene:
It’s safe to say that the book should be thrown at Lopez for his intentional and straight evil act of retribution. Thankfully, word has it that CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster was actually at the event when this disgraceful behavior was carried out, so expect Lopez to potentially receive a lifetime ban from fighting in the state of California. That still seems like it would be letting him off easy.
We will update you on the severity of his punishment when details are made available.
Thankfully, the man stepping up on short notice to take Rumble’s place will be none other than the last man to be defeated by him, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. “The Pit Bull” has not fought since his aforementioned loss at WSOF 2, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Johnson in an entertaining slugfest.
While we imagine that Kyle is probably elated to learn that he is now fighting a guy he stands a decent chance of actually knocking out, expect him to be a huge underdog heading into this one nonetheless. Minus his setback at the hands of Johnson, Arlovski has gone 4-0 with 1 NC since exiting Strikeforce back in 2011 (well, 5-0 if you also happen to think that ONE FC’s stance on soccer kicks is f*cking ridiculous). Kyle, on the other hand, recently scored a quick KO over Travis Wiuff in his comeback bout last May.
Thankfully, the man stepping up on short notice to take Rumble’s place will be none other than the last man to be defeated by him, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. “The Pit Bull” has not fought since his aforementioned loss at WSOF 2, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Johnson in an entertaining slugfest.
While we imagine that Kyle is probably elated to learn that he is now fighting a guy he stands a decent chance of actually knocking out, expect him to be a huge underdog heading into this one nonetheless. Minus his setback at the hands of Johnson, Arlovski has gone 4-0 with 1 NC since exiting Strikeforce back in 2011 (well, 5-0 if you also happen to think that ONE FC’s stance on soccer kicks is f*cking ridiculous). Kyle, on the other hand, recently scored a quick KO over Travis Wiuff in his comeback bout last May.
Look, we know the idea of paying to see Ricardo Mayorga get in a sanctioned Nicaraguan street fight might be asking a little much, even for such seasoned freak show aficionados as yourselves. Thankfully, World Series of Fighting recently announced a slightly less freakish but equally confuddling headliner for their next event, and you don’t even have to pay for this one!
On the heels of a unanimous decision victory over Andrei Arlovski at heavyweight in the promotion’s second event, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will find himself back at light heavyweight when he squares off against Mike “MAK” Kyle at WSOF 5 on September 14th in New Jersey. The over-under on how long this thing lasts is currently set at 24 seconds.
(Our answer? HELL TO THE YES.)
Look, we know the idea of paying to see Ricardo Mayorga get in a sanctioned Nicaraguan street fight might be asking a little much, even for such seasoned freak show aficionados as yourselves. Thankfully, World Series of Fighting recently announced a slightly less freakish but equally confuddling headliner for their next event, and you don’t even have to pay for this one!
On the heels of a unanimous decision victory over Andrei Arlovski at heavyweight in the promotion’s second event, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will find himself back at light heavyweight when he squares off against Mike “MAK” Kyle at WSOF 5 on September 14th in New Jersey. The over-under on how long this thing lasts is currently set at 24 seconds.
Since retiring from the sport in…uh…2013 and unretiring from the sport…uh…later in 2013, Kyle has picked up a quick and incredibly violent KO victory over journeyman Travis Wiuff at CFA 11 in May. We’ve thrown a video of that fight below, not only for the brutal knockout but for the incredible amount of restraint that Kyle showed when dealing with a referee who seemed to be goading him into falling back on his old habits.
