5 Lessons Learned From UFC Fight Night 51

What did we learn from the UFC's most recent trip to Brazil?

UFC Fight Night 51: Silva vs. Arlovski

UFC Fight Night 51 went down Saturday night in Brasilia, Brazil, and marked headliner Antonio Silva's first ever fight in his home country. It's an almost unheard of statistic given that Silva's career has spanned nearly a decade; most fighters work their way up from the regional circuit after all, and this is especially true in Brazil, where there a lot of options for up and coming fighters.

His opponent, Andrei Arlovski, was looking to improve on a successful yet anti-climatic start to his second UFC run. His first bout back, at UFC 174, resulted in a close but dull split decision win over Brendan Schaub.

The two fighters had met once before, in 2010 under the Strikeforce banner. There, Bigfoot Silva fought "The Pitbull" to a decision, picking up the unanimous decision victory over the former UFC champion.

Leading into Saturday night's main event, Bigfoot had stated that he was looking to improve on the decision victory from 2010 and was out for the knockout. Arlovski, for his part, was a little more reserved in his analysis, but in the heavyweight division, one punch can change everything - and it did. In the very first round, Arlovski connected with Bigfoot, a solid punch that sent Silva crashing to the canvass. The hammer fists that followed were almost unnecessary, and the fight was quickly waved off.

It was far from the homecoming that Silva wanted, and it leaves him in limbo (he's due for surgery next and will be out several months, due to his acromegaly), but for Arlovski, it marks the arrival of a possible second wind in his career. Or a continued second win, if you count his recent run outside the UFC.

The rest of the UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Silva card was weak on paper and failed to garner much interest from fans, but lets take a look at five lessons learned from UFC Fight Night 51.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.