Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson
In his last fight, Andrei Arlovski (14-5) proved that former IFL standout Ben Rothwell was not quite ready for prime time in spectacular fashion. Now, another IFL veteran in the form of Roy “Big Country” Nelson (13-2) will attempt to prove that he has what it takes to conquer the top heavyweights in the world, starting with a rejuvenated “Pitbull”.
Arlovski’s career is familiar to almost every MMA fan. Early in his UFC career, Arlovski looked like a beast, tearing people’s heads off with explosive punching and destroying everything in his path. After losing twice to Tim Sylvia, though, Arlovski’s momentum cooled, and a couple of utterly lackluster fights saw him ignobly released from his UFC contract. In his first fight after being unceremoniously dumped by Zuffa, Arlovski showed all of his old brilliance and then some, spectacularly dominating Ben Rothwell, who is a very good fighter indeed.
Now, Roy Nelson will attempt to prove that IFL wasn’t just a sideshow to UFC. Visually, this will be an odd fight indeed, with the rotund Nelson facing off against the almost comically ripped Arlovski. Like Arlovski, Nelson’s strength is his standup game, although both men are fairly accomplished grapplers as well. Stylistically, the two fighters are fairly similar overall. The two big differences between them are girth and experience. While Nelson has faced some decent opposition, his toughest challenge was a split decision loss to the aforementioned Ben Rothwell, who Arlovski completely destroyed.
The upset factor here is Arlovski’s chin, which many consider questionable. If he takes a full power shot to his chin from a man with Nelson’s size and strength, chances are he will fold up like an accordion.
More likely, however, is that Arlovski’s years of experience and superior speed and manueverability enable him to pick off Nelson with powerful shots en route to a round 3 stoppage. Arlovski vs. Nelson odds
