Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) offered up another mixed martial arts (MMA) fight card on the Fight Pass digital network this weekend (Sat., Sept. 13, 2014), this time in Brasilia, Brazil. UFC Fight Night 51: "Bigfoot vs. Arlovski" wasn't filled with a ton of big names or stars, but three out of the five fights on the main card ended in finishes; two in the first round.
In the main event, former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski knocked out Antonio Silva a little over halfway through the opening round. It was a rematch of their first encounter at Strikeforce: "Heavy Artillery" back in 2010 that Silva won by unanimous decision. Arlovski looked to be the quicker of the two fighters, showing solid footwork and moving in and out with his striking attacks.
Silva didn't land much and when he made a mistake and presented an opening, "The Pit Bull" jumped on it with two big right hands that sent him flat on his back. The former champion would finish up with several hammer fists on the ground until referee Jerin Valel called a halt to the action at 2:59 of the opening frame (full recap here).
In the co-main event, Gleison Tibau edged out Piotr Hallmann by split decision (28-29, 29-28,29-28) to win his second straight fight and third overall victory in Brazil as a UFC lightweight.
Also on the card, the No.10-ranked women's bantamweight, Jessica Andrade, choked out newcomer Larissa Pacheco via guillotine late in the first round to kick off the main card.
Here are your biggest winners and losers from Brasilia.
Biggest winner-- Andrei Arlovski
After Sergei Kharitonov knocked the former UFC champion clean out in the opening round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, the entire MMA world thought Arlovski was finished. That was his fourth loss in a row and his third by way of knockout. It was also 2011. A lot has changed since then and Arlovski has lost only once in his last 10 fights, a decision loss to Anthony Johnson at World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 2.
With the knockout victory over Silva, "Pitbull" has now won two straight since returning to the UFC heavyweight division. He was ranked No.14 heading into UFC Fight Night 51 and should now jump into the top half of the division since "Bigfoot" was ranked No. 4 prior to the contest.
There are a few matchups you could make for Arlovski that would be entertaining. Ben Rothwell, who is fresh off a bludgeoning of Alistair Overeem, Stipe Miocic, or an old school match up against Josh Barnett. Yes, "The Warmaster" is coming off a loss, but that would be an interesting match up and a nostalgic bout the fans could get behind.
Runner up-- Jessica Andrade
There are few women who are ready for a shot against the current women's bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, and Jessica Andrade certainly isn't ready for that yet, but while "Rowdy" reigns supreme, the remainder of the division will soon produce a few wolves among the sheep. Andrade was ranked at No.10 in the division, and turned in an impressive victory over Larissa Pachecho at UFC Fight Night 51. Pachecho was previously undefeated at 10-0 before succumbing to Andrade's guillotine finish.
The 22-year-old will most likely not move up in the rankings, but she is now 3-1 in the UFC and has 15 professional fights under her belt. With her experience and age, the ceiling is very high for her and she could in fact, turn into a major player in the division after her next few fights.
A match up against No. 8-ranked Bethe Correia, who just finished Shayna Bazsler via technical knockout at UFC 177, won her first three fights in the UFC and is still undefeated, would be great for her next trip into the Octagon.
Honorable Mention-- Godofredo Pepey
Anytime you pull off a mounted triangle/armbar submission you are winner in my book. Pepey got slammed by Dashon Johnson then locked up the triangle shortly thereafter. He threatened with that submission and the armbar. Dashon tried in vain and Pepey transitioned to mount and isolated Johnson's arm and torqued it back to force the tap and earn the victory as well as a $50,000 "Performance of the Night" bonus. That was his second "Performance" bonus in two fights. He is now 3-3 as a UFC featherweight. Perhaps a shot at one of the fighters sitting at the bottom of the division rankings, like Charles Oliveira or Tatsuya Kawajiri makes the most sense next. Whoever Sean Shelby matches him up with, many will be tuning in for a chance to see another crazy finish.
Biggest Loser-- Antonio Silva
After seeing Silva's lackluster performance against Arlovski, it's hard to believe that "Bigfoot" fought for the heavyweight title only last May at UFC 160. His stock was still very high after a "That was bananas!" majority draw five-round war against Mark Hunt in his very next fight. As we know, that fight turned into a no contest (NC) due to Silva testing for elevated levels of testosterone and the Brazilian received a nine-month suspension. UFC Fight Night 51 was his first action in over nine months and it showed. No way around it, it was a horrible loss for Silva. Arlovski was always a step ahead of him until landing the fatal blows to end "Bigfoot's" night.
I say a rematch with the underachieving Alistair Overeem is in order.
Runner up-- Wendell Oliveira
Aside from wanting to continue to be called by his nickname "War Machine" despite the obvious, Oliveira, who was not allowed to keep his original moniker and was referred to as "The Machine" by "Veteran Voice of the Octagon," Bruce Buffer, was knocked out by Santiago Ponzinibbio (say that three times fast) in the first round. Oliveira got clipped by a left hand and then got absolutely lit up against the cage by Ponzinibbio and dropped to his knees unconscious.
Better luck next time.
For more results and fallout from UFC Fight Night 51 including play-by-play, videos, reactions, recaps, and more, check out our "Bigfoot vs. Arlovski" live story stream right here.