UFC Fight Night 51: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski 2 Date: September 13, 2014 Location: Brasilia, Brazil Venue: Ginasio Nilson Nelson Broadcast: Fight Pass UFC Heavyweight Bigfoot Silva (-260) Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-5, 1 NC) is one of the top heavyweights in the world. He never got any respect in Strikeforce until his finish of the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, a victory which put him on the map, but he’s definitely got respect in the UFC after knocking out Alistair Overeem and Travis Browne, fighting Cain Velasquez for the title but coming up short at UFC 160. He bounced back from the loss to Velasquez with an amazing, Fight of the Year performance against Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 33 in a fight that was scored a draw (but later changed to a No Contest). After serving a drug suspension, Silva is back once again and this time he takes on Andrei Arlovski in a rematch of the pair’s first fight in Strikeforce which Silva won via unanimous decision. UFC Heavyweight Andrei Arlovski (+180) The former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski (22-10, 1 NC) is one of the best heavyweights ever in MMA. He has fought basically every top fighter in the division’s history, and while he has gone through stretched of mediocrity he has overall performed at an extremely-high rate for a long time. He has great striking skills and an underrated ground game, making him a tough matchup for anyone but the elite. After running off a win streak in World Series of Fighting, the UFC decided to bring Arlovski back and he made his return to the Octagon at UFC 174, defeating Brendan Schaub in a controversial split decision. Although UFC president Dana White criticized his performance in the fight, he did get his hand raised and the promotion decided to give him a step up in competition when he takes on Antonio Silva in a main event rematch at UFC Fight Night 51. Opening UFC Fight Night 51 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Bigfoot a -260 favorite (bet $260 to win $100) while Arlovski opened as a +180 underdog (bet $100 to win $180) at Several Bookmakers. This is a rematch of the pair’s first fight in Strikeforce which Bigfoot won via unanimous decision. Since then, Arlovski has shown massive signs of decline, while Bigfoot has elevated his game to a whole new level. He is coming off a drug suspension, though, which could be a cause for concern, and he no longer is able to use TRT. But Arlovski had a poor showing in his UFC return against Brendan Schaub and with his chin, he is always going to be an underdog to a heavy hitter. It’s not a lock by any means, but Bigfoot has the edges in a lot of areas in this fight and that’s why he opened up as a big favorite.
