The “Other Side” of the Bracket vol.1 – Andrei Arlovski
By: Bryan Lee
With the announcement of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, many have been a little perplexed with the way that the brackets break down. I’ve gone over the logic behind the brackets in my previous post (January 6, 2011), so I won’t get into that again. Instead, I’ve decided to give a rundown of the fighters participating in this tournament, starting with the “other side” of the bracket.
February 12 not only signifies the return of former #1 Fedor Emelianenko against Antonio Silva, but an opposite bracket match up between two of Eastern Europe’s all-time greatest mixed martial artists: Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov. Let’s dive a little deeper into this match up.
Most fight fans know of former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. He’s been fighting professionally since 1999 and first entered into the UFC in November of 2000. After a rocky start in the promotion that saw him lose two of his first three fights (TKO losses to Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo), Andrei rattled off six straight highlight reel finishes en route to the UFC Heavyweight title. Unfortunately, the man Arlovski beat for the title, Tim Sylvia, would comeback and win both rematches, handing Andrei his first losses in over 4 years. Arlovski bounced back to win his next three fights in the UFC, including a UD win over fellow Strikeforce tournament entrant Fabricio Werdum. It looked like Arlovski was back in the title picture, when he inexplicably decided to leave the UFC in pursuit of a fight with all-time great Fedor Emelianenko. After beating down current UFC fighters Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson and soaring back to Top 3 status, he was granted his wish.
The fight started with Andrei using his size advantage, keeping the aggressive Emelianenko at distance. Neither fighter was able to land any significant shots, but Andrei appeared to be controlling the ring and dictating the pace of the fight. For the first time, Fedor appeared to be a bit frustrated at his inability to close the distance with his powerful looping punches. Two quick exchanges ended by a push-kick that sent Fedor bouncing into the ropes made this long-time fan of Emelianenko believe that he was being bested by Arlovski. A split second later and the Last Emperor was calmly walking away, fist raised, leaving an unconscious Arlovski wide-eyed, dreaming of flying knees and number one rankings.
This sent Andrei Arlovski into a bit of a spiral being so close to that number spot and losing on a rookie mistake. Rumors of depression and even a bit of the ol’ Russian Roulette began to circulate. We’d wait another five months before Andrei decided to step into the cage again, this time to face an up and comer in Brett Rogers. Many thought that Rogers was a tune-up fight for Andrei, so he could get back on track and earn another shot against Fedor. All that was really known about Rogers was that he packed a hell of a punch…and apparently that is all that was needed in knocking out Andrei in twenty two seconds. Perhaps Arlovski took Rogers lightly, as he even scheduled his professional boxing debut for three weeks after the Rogers fight (Arlovski would be forced to backout). Maybe the effects, both physical and mental, of the Fedor KO were still lingering or maybe Rogers just had the right game plan; wait for the customary leg-kick feeler that Andrei tends to throw at the beginning of fights and then blast him full-bore. Regardless, a visibly lost Andrei Arlovski was left to pick up the pieces.
Five fights in 15 months, depression and two devastating KO’s led Arlovski to a much needed break from fighting; We would not see Andrei in the cage for nearly a year. During that time, he switched to the highly touted camp down in New Mexico run by Greg Jackson. Upon hearing of this news, I immediately thought it was for the better. It never looked like Andrei ever came out with a gameplan. He was a head-hunter, plain and simple, he was in desperate need of a victory and having one of the best coaches in MMA, along with some of the best fighters in the business as training partners; looked to be a great move.
Before he entered the cage with Antonio Silva, my friends and I thought that Arlovski would outclass the much slower Bigfoot on the feet and avoid enough takedowns to either TKO or UD Silva. The speed disparity was far too great. This is exactly the matchup that Arlovski needed to get back on track. The fight started and immediately Arlovski looked apprehensive. After several exchanges, it began to look as though Arlovski just couldn’t pull the trigger. He would get into range and hesitate a split second too long. Silva, on the other hand, was at his most aggressive. He landed straight punches throughout the fight, hurting Arlovski on a few occasions. The fight was being won on the feet, but it wasn’t Arlovski doing the beating. Was he gunshy, fearing a repeat of his two previous fights? Was he trying to execute a new gameplan and simply failing? Was this the end of Andrei Arlovski at the top?
These questions continue to persist as his next fight gets closer. At his best, Andrei is a world-beater, an aggressive fighter capable of touching any fighter’s chin and turning his lights out. At his worst, he is gunshy and can be one-punched, call it a night. After the Silva fight, I thought that it said a lot about Andrei and where he was in his career. It is not uncommon to see a great fighter get near the top and lose, only to follow up that disappointment with another loss. Some chalk it up to the residual effects of getting so close to your ultimate goal only to fail, not to mention getting KO’d. This led me to give Arlovski the benefit of the doubt in the Rogers loss. After his poor performance in the Silva fight, however, I’m left questioning where he stands.
I’d love to see the Pitbull come back, KO-ing his way to the finals, but he has a tough road ahead of him, as Kharitonov is a long-time vet with great hands and an iron-will. What will we see come February 12th? A new chapter in the Pitbull’s story, or the conclusion? Strikeforce has the answer, but we’ll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.
Next Entry: Sergei Kharitonov
