A rematch no one asked for will main event one of the UFC’s fall Fight Night cards. According to Globo, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will take on Andrei Arlovski in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51, which is set to take place September 13 in Brasilia, Brazil. The two previously fought in Strikeforce in 2010, with Silva edging out a unanimous decision win in a not-so-good fight. I’m not exactly sure why the UFC decided to book this rematch, and I really think the Brazilian fans are getting a poor main event, even if the matchup does favor their hometown guy, “Bigfoot.” The biggest thing that bothers me about it is that both “Bigfoot” and Arlovski were ripped in the media after their last fights by UFC president Dana White, and now both are getting a main event slot. In Silva’s case, he had a “Fight of the Year” performance against Mark Hunt in his last outing, but after the fight he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels and was suspended nine months. As for Arlovski, he recently returned to the UFC after five years away from the promotion only to win a very controversial split decision over Brendan Schaub in one of the worst fights so far in 2014. He was then ripped apart in the media by White after the fight, so it’s really strange he is getting a main event slot after that performance. Having said that, the UFC is in dire straits right now when it comes to finding main event fighters, so I can see why they are putting this matchup between two heavyweights in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51. Having said that, I don’t think it was necessary to book this fight for five rounds as, with both of their chins and power, the odds of this fight going the distance is really low. As for the odds, look for Silva to be the favorite here, perhaps around -250 or so, although after Arlovski’s awful UFC return bout that line could realistically be even higher in Silva’s favor. Regardless, this is one of the poorer main events on paper so far this year that the UFC has put on, although with the promotion continuing to hold more and more events as the years go by, these kind of fights are going to be typical Fight Night main events in the future, even though that’s a very scary thought.
