Infamous Moments in MMA History: Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski 3

Hello once more fans and friends, and welcome to another edition of “Infamous Moments in MMA History”. Today’s fight is often brought up in conversations revolving around the most boring MMA fight ever. What’s so ironic, and therefore what makes this article so depressing to me, is that both fighters involved in today’s induction were known, and in fact are still known, as heavy-handed strikers not afraid to engage. Maybe it was the fact that both men had knocked each other senseless in brutal, even humiliating fashion. Maybe it’s because, let’s face it, both men reigned as UFC Heavyweight Champion during the absolute worst and weakest UFC Heavyweight division ever. No matter the reason, today’s induction features the notorious third encounter between Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia.

On paper, this could have been the grudge match to end all grudge matches. With his good looks, vampire-teeth mouthguard, and penchant for knocking opponents senseless, Andrei Arlovski quickly became a hot commodity for the UFC, having scored three straight KO’s before utterly devastating Tim Sylvia in under 50 seconds, knocking him down and then finishing him with a heel hook. To his credit, Sylvia had also earned a reputation as a feared striker, and with his gigantic stature, it was near-impossible for other fighters to counter his bullying tactics. Sylvia had even earned a measure of revenge against Arlovski, nearly getting knocked out in their second match only to rebound and instead knock Arlovski out in dramatic fashion. When combined, both fights lasted a mere three and a half minutes. With the score even at 1-1, with both men having tasted a crushing defeat and a stellar victory, another wild, bomb-tastic brawl was almost guaranteed. If only it were that simple.

What we got was three rounds full of timidity, the unwillingness to engage, and the sheer boredom and frustration of seeing two fighters so afraid of getting humbled again that neither one had the intestinal fortitude to go for broke and pull the trigger. Up to this fight, both men were probably guilty of a few things. Tim Sylvia was always sloppy. Andrei Arlovski always looked great against nobodies and struggled with the Heavyweight elite. But damn it all, I found myself consistently entertained by both men. That’s got to count for something, right? In this fight I was confused, then frustrated, then downright angry. Champions don’t hover around the ring, trying to avoid their opponent at all times. Champions, real champions, will seize any opportunity even if it opens them up to a counter-attack. That’s the nature of this business, folks.

Perhaps the saddest thing about this fight is that both men’s careers were never the same. Both men would get kicked out of the UFC. Tim Sylvia would go on to get obliterated by Fedor Emelianenko and Ray Mercer, in the process gaining about forty pounds of pure fat. His recent wins may put him on the comeback trail, but let’s not kid ourselves, it’ll be a difficult road back to relevancy. Andrei Arlovski seemed poised for a career comeback, winning five straight and getting back to his once-dominant ways…and then Fedor Emelianenko sent him crashing down to earth with a mid-air KO, which was quickly followed by Brett Rogers bull-rushing him and knocking him out as well. Now 0-3 in his last three fights, a career resurrection seems more and more like a distant pipe dream.

Despite my varying levels of fandom, I think both men have only themselves to blame for their career woes, which began with this utterly atrocious fight. It was boring beyond belief, and would ultimately serve as a prelude to the career downfalls of two of the best the UFC had to offer at that point in time. For how it played out, and especially due to it having such a powerfully negative effect on both fighters, Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski 3 is an “Infamous Moment in MMA History”.