The UFC Fight Night event scheduled for Brasilia, Brazil on September 13th is headlined by a Heavyweight tussle between former UFC Champion Andrei Arlovski and Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. Both men are in need of a win for different reasons, but look for Silva to be the strong favorite when the line hits the books.
Arlovksi returned to the UFC in June after toiling in smaller events and in the World Series of Fighting, and he proceeded to stink up the joint in his win over Brendan Schaub, who was equally responsible for the fiasco of a match. Arlovski gets another chance to perform, but it is not an easy chance, as the massive Silva has the game necessary to take Arlovski out.
Silva really needs a win himself. He has been serving a suspension for PED use, and he is 0-1-1 in his last two matches, earning a draw with iron-headed Mark Hunt, and losing to heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, so he needs a win just to get himself back on track.
Arlovski needs to finish and finish big in this fight. His only other way to win against an opponent like Silva would be to try and box and let this turn into a slow, boring match. If Arlovski cannot mount any type of good performance, he could find himself cut again, and this time he will be gone for good.
For Silva, the game plan is to gt in close to Arlovski and try to tie him up against the fence. From there he can work a take down or try to administer punishment in close quarters against Arlovski. Silva will likely be single minded in his pursuit of Arlovski’s chin while they are standing, and he is unl8ikley to hold back on the striking if the match hits the ground. On the ground, Silva will look to his Jiu Jitsu bag of tricks to stop Arlovski. Silva is going to be a lot bigger than Arlovski, as Silva cuts down to make the 266 lb weight limit while Arlovski is a 240 lber and with his aggression, he could win by something as simple as a raw squeeze of the head if he gets Arlovski on the ground.
