UFC: Top 10 Andrei Arlovski Moments

8. ONE FC: Pride Of A Nation - Arlovski vs. Sylvia 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnAyM_7nlsA Before ONE FC had Ben Askren as a big name, they had Andrei Arlovski. The upstart, Asian-based organization looked to make a splash in the heavyweight MMA scene by signing Arlovski to fight his old rival, Tim Sylvia, who had defeated Arlovski twice under the UFC banner, to both take and defend the title from the Pit Bull. Arlovski, of course, had won their first encounter, winning the interim heavyweight belt in the process. Six years removed from their last UFC confrontation, however, Arlovski vs. Sylvia 4 had the feel of a nostalgia act, or worse, an old timers league match. Despite that, Sylvia had somehow managed to win 7 of his last 8 at the time, and Arlovski had turned things around with two straight victories in ProElite. If nothing else, it would be a fun fight for the fans, right? The fight did have a fair bit of decent action. In the first round, Arlovski looked to have the better striking, and Sylvia, looking out of shape and outmatched, did what he could to tie the Pit Bull up against the fence. This actually led to Sylvia landing a few decent shots to the head and body and attempting a knee before Arlovski answered back with an elbow. Ladies and gentleman, we have a fight. Round two saw an invigorated Arlovski displaying what can only be thought of as classic Jackson game planning - active with high kicks, clean crisp striking, and smart movement, eluding his opponent with seeming ease. Eventually, Sylvia got the fight back against the cage, but when the Belarussian broke free and gained some room, sparks really started to fly, and he caught Sylvia clean with a punch that sent him the the canvass. Had the fight ended there, I'm not sure it would have made this list, but then came a rather historic moment for young ONE FC: a soccer kick. ONE FC, at the time, allowed soccer kicks, something that no doubt thrilled the "Pride Never Die" segment of the fanbase, but with one caveat: the ref had to give the go ahead, declaring an opponent fair game. This declaration rule muddied the waters a fair bit, both for fans watching, and the fighters themselves. As Sylvia attempted to get back to his feet, Arlovski gave him two quick kicks to the head, and the ref stepped in to wave the action off. Initially it seemed Arlovski was getting the win - only to have it announced that the fight would end in a no contest, as the ref hadn't given the signal that Sylvia was fair game for the kicks. This ruling actually forced ONE FC to review the rule and implement full Pride rules for soccer kicks from that point forward. For that reason alone, it's a memorable moment, one that got us an organization running the closest thing to Pride rules since, well, Pride, but there's no question that Arlovski had the better of Sylvia in their final confrontation, regardless of the final result.