Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski knocked out former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson with a brutal right hook tonight on the EliteXC: Heat card in Florida. The fight went to the ground early, with the 260-pound Nelson on top and getting control but not doing a lot of damage, before the ref stood them up halfway through the round. Nelson then pushed Arlovski against the cage and held him there, while Arlovski tried to land a couple of punches and knees. It was a close first round in which neither fighter was a clear winner.
But in the second round, Arlovski showed that he's clearly the superior fighter, landing a series of knees and strikes before finally knocking Nelson out with a big right hand at the 3:14 mark.
The fight was part of a co-promotion between EliteXC and Affliction. There has been talk that Affliction would like Arlovski to fight Fedor Emelianenko, who is widely regarded as the best heavyweight in the world, in January, and if that fight goes off it will be a big one. Fedor has been featured in multiple commercials during tonight's CBS show, and Arlovski did a nice job of promoting himself with a solid performance.
Arlovski is now on a five-fight winning streak and has improved his professional MMA record to 14-5. Nelson falls to 13-3.
Other EliteXC results:
Gina Carano beats Kelly Kobold by unanimous decision.
Jake Shields submits Paul Daley.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-04-2008 @ 10:29PM
Immortal Technique PSN: johnnynumber5 said...
Nelson didn't belong in the same ring as Arlovski. That much was obvious after seeing Nelson gassed after round 1. Andrei better get his next fight against Fedor. He deserves it. I still think that Fedor will destroy Arlovski but he deserves a chance.
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10-05-2008 @ 1:14AM
sublime said...
Arlovski is among the top heavyweights and a fight with him and Fedor would be really interesting. Having said that I don't think he can beat Fedor. Consider something here, Tim Silvia would likley beat roy nelson, how long do you think nelson would have lasted in the ring with Fedor? Point is Arlovski while far superior to nelson is still not on the level of Fedor.
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10-05-2008 @ 2:44AM
Mike Fossano said...
I really didn't like the fact they were stood up when big country had such a dominant position. The refs are trying to make a good showing but there has to be a point when a positional advantage is as good a reason to stop a fight as the inability to defend themselves elite xc is nowhere near the level of ufc you want to make ufc free sponsers need to step up and offer the kind of money ufc makes off of ppv because they had a chance to get in cheaper when the sport was fledgling but didn't because of the worry it was a fad well the early bird gets the worm folks and now they are putting out shows to compete with ufc the only problem is that these guys are already proven losers in ufc elite xc is to ufc what xfl is to nfl pay these guys what they are worth sponsors
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10-05-2008 @ 3:39AM
Big Poppa Marv said...
Andre is going to destroy Fedor in January. Thats the fight everybody wants to see and it means big bucks for sure
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10-08-2008 @ 5:18PM
dena said...
i think roy nelson is an excellent mma fighter if the ref wouldnt have pulled them off i know big country would have beat arlovski hands down. he knows what hes doing! and everyone that thinks he needs to "look like a fighter" should piss off everyone has a personal life and as long as hes winning why should anyone give a sh*t?!!!!!!
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10-09-2008 @ 8:16AM
Eric said...
I agree that Arlovski deserves a chance to fight Fedor, but he has nothing more than a punchers chance in that fight. He is a big, menacing, powerful guy, but his record against good fighters is poor ... and Fedor isn't a good fighter he's a great fighter.
Big Country had Arlovski in side control with a Kimora hooked up when the referee decides it is a good time to stand up ... ? What the hell was the ref thinking? That was the one position for Nelson to have a chance to win the fight, and the ref took it away from him.
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