An upcoming pay-per-view has a pretty huge heavyweight fight in the works. Posted below are my thoughts on the potential battle of former champions: Andrei Arlovski vs Frank Mir, UFC 191 The upcoming Demetrious Johnson-headlined event in early September is looking to add more star power and both Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir will provide plenty of it. Arlovski is on the verge of a title shot after scoring three straight UFC wins in his return to the promotion including two impressive first round knockouts of Antonio Silva and Travis Browne in his last two fights. Mir looked to be nearly done in the UFC after suffering four straight losses, but a pair of first round knockouts over Antonio Silva and most recently Todd Duffee have firmly vaulted him right back into the mix in the heavyweight division. It may come as a surprise that this fight hasn’t happened sooner considering both men were in their primes and were champions at about the same time, but injuries among other things got in the way. Expect a slugfest when this bout is on the feet as both men have showcased some very aggressive striking in their most recent performances, seemingly throwing caution to the wind in an attempt to land that big knockout blow. While Mir still has a ways to go to become a true contender again, Arlovski is likely one fight away from a title shot and could earn a crack at Fabricio Werdum (a man he defeated during his first stint in the UFC) with a win here. I expect Arlovski to open up as a slight favorite, but this is MMA and especially in heavyweight MMA, anything can happen.
