To watch Andrei Arlovski vs. Frank Mir full fight video highlights from UFC 191 co-main event last night click here.
To claim that Heavyweight Brazilian jiu-jitsu submission machine, Frank Mir, has fallen in love with his stand up skills of late would be an understatement. To think that they are good enough to go toe-to-toe with knockout artist Andrei Arlovski would be foolish.
Or not.
Arlovski and Mir -- former Heavyweight champions -- finally collided tonight (Sat., Sept. 5, 2015) in the co-main event of UFC 191, which took place inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. And even though Mir was willing to exchange shots for three grueling rounds, his stand up -- and his light ground work -- were not enough to give him the edge with the judges sitting ringside.
His constant clinching might have had something to do with the result.
Mir came out looking to set the pace, and the moment Arlovski got near, he pushed him into the cage. Arlovski unleashed a sick right hook and Mir chased him back to the fence with a barrage of punches. Arlovski backed out of danger and drilled Mir on the break with a hard shot.
Arlovski continued to make Mir chase him and he eventually caught him again along the fence and dropped in two nice short left hooks before the action returned to the center of the Octagon. Mir came charging in again with another barrage and the referee warned him about leading with his head.
Mir was able to tie up Arlovski along the cage once again, but "Pitbull" landed a nice uppercut that made him back off momentarily. Arlovski was able to turn the tables on Mir in the clinch along the cage and land a nice straight right hand as the first round ended.
Arlovski appeared to be the fresher-looking fighter coming out for round two as Mir switches his stance to orthodox. It was just a ploy, though, as Mir clearly wanted to takedown Arlovski and put in a little ground work. Mir broke free for a few seconds and landed some nice shots to the ribs before Arlovski eventually tied him up, leading to a stand up from the referee.
On the restart, Arlovski landed a nice switch kick to the body and a few knees in the clinch before going toe-to-toe again. Mir charged forward with a lunging left that barely missed its mark, which he followed up with a spinning backfist that was a bit off target, too.
Mir appeared to want to bait Arlovski into something, standing still with his arms down, but "Pitbull" didn't bite and the round ended rather bizarrely.
Heading into the third and final frame it was anyone's match to win. Arlovski fired off with a right hand and immediately Mir went back to nullifying his offense along the cage with a bear hug. Arlovski missed a huge swooping right hand and Mir ducked under it easily, almost using it to secure another takedown.
Both big men, at this point, are beyond tired, with Mir constantly checking out the clock. Once again, the referee put them back in the center of the cage and Mir was able to clip him with a nice shot, dropping him to the canvas. Mir landed on top and immediately angled for a submission, but Arlovski was able to escape quickly.
With one minute to go in the bout, both fighters were sucking wind. Arlovski put together a nice combination and landed a nice left hand that back up Mir ... and then another ... before the dreaded clinch. Those two shots from Arlovski split open Mir, whose face eye was dripping blood as the fight came to a close.
Arlovski would go on to win a unanimous decision, but it was closer than the scorecards indicated. Both fighters looked like old legends despite their recent highlight-reel successes. Arlovski admitted that it was a poor performance, vowing to "change something" in training to ensure more impressing showing in his next outing.
Which I highly doubt will be a world title fight.
For complete UFC 191: "Johnson vs. Dodson 2" results coverage, including play-by-play updates, click here and here.