Emelianenko vs Arlovski At Affliction II
by Robert Sargent
Ending weeks of speculation, Affliction has officially announced that #1-ranked heavyweight fighter "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko will face Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski at Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" on January 24th in California.
Emelianenko (28-1-0, 1 NC), the final PRIDE and current WAMMA Unified Heavyweight Champion, will face a tough test in former UFC Heavyweight Champion Arlovski (14-5-0).
Both fighters are coming off of impressive stoppage victories, as Emelianenko submitted former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia in just 36 seconds at Affliction: "Banned" in July. Arlovski most recently competed earlier this month at EliteXC: "Heat," where he became the first man to ever knock out final IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy "Big Country" Nelson.
Arlovski was originally slated to face another former UFC Heavyweight Champion, "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett, at "Day of Reckoning" this year, but the event was postponed until January and Barnett stated that he had not been informed of the Arlovski bout, nor of a fight with Emelianenko. Fans have been waiting for an Emelianenko vs Barnett fight since 2006 in PRIDE, but it has yet to materialise.
With Barnett out of the picture, Arlovski's victory over Nelson solidified his spot as the #1 contender for Emelianenko's WAMMA Unified Heavyweight Championship, which will be up for grabs at "Day of Reckoning."
Emelianenko is the consensus #1 fighter in the world, and widely regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist in history. Besides his win over Sylvia, Emelianenko has defeated current UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira twice, 2006 PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, Ricardo Arona, Semmy "High Tower" Schilt, "The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring, Kazuyuki "Ironhead" Fujita, Mark Hunt and former champions Matt "The Law" Lindland, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman (twice).
His record reads as a who's who of the worldwide heavyweight division.
Arlovski is no slouch, either, but has a long way to go before he can attain the success of Emelianenko. Arlovski has also defeated Sylvia, but dropped the second and third bouts of their trilogy. Early career knockouts, including ones to Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez and Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo in the UFC, hindered Arlovski's path to title contention, but he has rebounded with impressive victories in the past six years, with his lone defeats coming against Sylvia.
In addition to his win over Nelson, Arlovski has defeated Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello, Justin Eilers, Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko, Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum, "Irish" Jake O'Brien and former IFL standout "Big" Ben Rothwell. He possesses knockout power in his hands and knees, but the major drawback on Arlovski has been his suspect chin. Emelianenko dropped Sylvia with punches in less than 15 seconds, so Arlovski can expect to have to weather early punching flurries.
While both are skilled in Sambo wrestling, Arlovski will likely look to keep the fight standing, whereas Emelianenko will be comfortable wherever the fight goes. His striking power is eclipsed only by his wizardry on the ground, and his armbars have become legendary. Arlovski will need to land a big punch if he wishes to dethrone "The Last Emperor."
Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" takes place on January 24th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The remainder of the card will be announced in the coming weeks.
