UFC Fight Night 136: Shamil Abdurakhimov decisions Andrei Arlovski

Heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Shamil Abdurakhimov faced off today (Sat., September 15, 2018) at UFC Fight Night 136 inside Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, live on UFC Fight Pass.

It was Shamil who got the upper hand in the first round, getting top position for large stretches of the round.

In the second round, Arlovski kneed Abdurakhimov low in the clinch, resulting in a break. Shamil caught Arlovski’s kick and put him on his back again. As Arlovski tried to stand against the cage, Abdurakhimov landed several hard punches, but Arlovski was able to stand. Arlovski landed a nice trip to put Shamil down briefly, but he managed to base out and stand back up quickly. Arlovski landed another nice trip to get Shamil down, and this time kept him there until the end of the round, landing a couple nice punches.

Abdurakhimov landed a spinning backfist. Arlovksi stepped in with a combination, and they clinched. Arlovski broke away, and they exchanged punches. Arlovski attempted a left hook, and Shamil countered him with a couple punches. Shamil ducked under another Arlovski rush, but Arlovski shucked off the abortive single-leg attempt. He poked Arlovski in the eye, stopping the bout for a minute. Shamil attempted a spinning backfist that fell short. He kneed Arlovski low, stopping the bout again. Shamil was aiming his punches for the body, and landed a left hook on Arlovski’s chin. Arlovski tried to land another trip, but didn’t get it right as the fight ended.

Afterwards, Shamil said through an interpreter that the fight wasn’t easy at all, he had been hoping to land a few more big shots to rock Arlovski, but ‘it is what it is’. He then called out Derrick Lewis for a rematch, but said Alexander Volkov, who is currently booked to face Derrick Lewis at UFC 229, is his close friend and he wished Volkov luck.

Official result: Shamil Abdurakhimov def. Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27x2)

For complete UFC Fight Night 136 results, including play-by-play, click here