Arlovski-Sylvia article on foxsports.com

BalrogOfMorgoth · 07-07-2006, 12:00 AM

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/5757722

The rivalry between current Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia and former champ Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski may go down at the shortest trilogy ever produced.

But in less than four total minutes over the first two fights, the combatants have already provided as many plot twists as Hollywood could possibly conjure.
When the two square off for the third time in Saturday's finale, the main event of UFC 61: Bitter Rivals at the sold-out Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the match is slated for five rounds. But few expect it to go the distance.

"We're all business," said Arlvoski, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound native of Minsk, Belarus. "We don't waste time. You know what type of fighters we are and what you're going to get."

The duo first met at UFC 51 in Feb. 2005 in Las Vegas. The fight was a 47-second flurry of action that ended with Arlovski winning via ankle lock.

Then in the rematch, at UFC 59 in Anaheim on April 15, Sylvia pulled off one of the most stunning turnarounds in MMA history. Sylvia shook off Arlovski's signature right cross and then scored a TKO win at 2:43 of the first round to claim the gold.

"We hit hard, dude," said the 6-foot-8, 250 pound Sylvia. "We're heavyweights. We're not getting out of the first round. Someone is going to sleep and it won't be me."

If the 30-year-old Sylvia seems to have an edge to his words, it is because for him, winning the UFC heavyweight title represents the culmination of a lifetime of overcoming obstacles, and he's not about to easily let go of what he's worked hard to earn.

"I don't feel like I'm getting my due," he said. "Coming up to the last fight, everyone talked about how I didn't have a chance. Now I'm hearing that the last fight was a fluke. I've worked too hard to get to where I am. Let people think I'm the underdog again. Great. That just works in my favor."

The product of an impoverished home in rural Maine, Sylvia played basketball and wrestled at Ellsworth High School. Sylvia dabbled in martial arts as a youth and competed in several low-level amateur MMA events in New England before getting his big break through sheer luck.

In a story that provides inspiration for wannabe UFC fighters everywhere, Sylvia drove with a group of friends from Maine to Atlantic City for UFC 28 in 2000. Before the show, the then 330-pound Sylvia was spotted by mixed martial arts legend Pat Miletich, whose Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Davenport, Iowa is currently riding high as the most successful MMA stable in North America.

"He said 'you're a big son of a b----. You do any fighting?'" said Sylvia. "I told him I did and they invited me out to Iowa. I went out there and they beat the hell out of me for a couple weeks and I loved it. I wanted more. I sold all my stuff back in Maine and moved to Iowa."

Sylvia's career has been marked by a series of peaks and valleys. He won his first 15 fights as a professional, the highlight being his first heavyweight title win over Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez by first-round TKO at UFC 41. But Sylvia was stripped of the title and suspended after his first defense for testing positive for Stanozolol, a banned substance. (Sylvia has been tested several times since and has come up clean every time; participants in every UFC title fight in Nevada are tested at each show by the state athletic commission).

When Sylvia returned, he suffered a loss to Frank Mir in which he suffered a fracture of the radial bone in his right arm that put him out of action for several months. When he returned, Sylvia had his quick loss to Arlovski.

In the fast-moving world of MMA, today's stars can become yesterday's news in a hurry. Sylvia was all but written off after the back-to-back high-profile losses, but he went back to work and changed his game.

"My team never let me quit," said Sylvia. "That's the thing about Miletich. Everyone's in it together. There are no weak links in our camp. Every time I've been knocked down, every mistake I've made, when I got stripped of my title, when I broke my arm, every time I've been low they wouldn't let me stay down. When you're surrounded by the type of guys we have there's no way you can fail."

Sylvia, who had been previously known for his sheer size and pure power, changed his diet and dropped close to 50 pounds. He added extensive roadwork to his training regimen and worked with a flexibility coach.

The first hints of the new Sylvia emerged last summer at UFC 56, when he knocked out respected veteran Tra Telligman with a picture-perfect flying kick to the head that seemed to defy the laws of physics. The comeback continued in January, when he displayed his improved conditioning by defeating Assuerio Silva by decision, the first time he went three full rounds in a UFC fight. Then came the big upset in Anaheim.

"I honestly believe my conditioning made the difference (against Arlovski)," said Sylvia. "When he nailed me I thought 'Oh, (expletive),' but I promised myself I wasn't staying down and I had the energy left to get back up.

"I guess if people don't understand how much I've improved by now, they never will," Sylvia continued. "Maybe they'll get it after I knock Andrei out again. I want to go down as one of the great champions in UFC. I want to be like Matt Hughes, with all his defenses of his (welterweight) belt. If that's not your goal, you shouldn't even be in this sport."

The problem for Sylvia is that not only does the 27-year old Arlovski have similar goals, but Arlovski was well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most dominant forces in the sport before he found himself on the wrong end of that devastating Sylvia uppercut at the Pond. And Arlovski views the last fight as a temporary diversion.

"Fighting is my life," said Arlovski, who now lives in Chicago. "This is all I want. Fighting has let me become famous and live the life I want to live. I want to be known as the greatest UFC fighter that ever lived and to do that I have to get my belt back."

Arlovski had won six consecutive fights over four years before the upset at the Pond, and all of those wins came in convincing fashion; five ended in the first round, four of them in less than two minutes. All but one — the submission win over Sylvia — were the direct result of Arlovski's lethal striking ability, and even the victory over Sylvia was set up by Arlovski's nasty overhand right.

Arlovski says he lost to Sylvia at UFC 59 in part because he got caught up in his exuberance to polish off another quick-strike finish. After flooring Sylvia with his big right, Sylvia managed to keep his wits about him and get his guard up, which enabled him to fend off Arlovski's attempted ground assault and get back to his feet. Arlovski went for the home run as soon as Sylvia got up, missed a shot, and walked right into Sylvia's big meat hook. Moments later, Sylvia wrapped the belt around his waist.

"I won't make that mistake again," says Arlovski, who originally learned mixed martial arts while training at the Minsk police academy. "I didn't fight a smart fight. I let my ego get in the way. I wanted to keep up my streak of first-round knockouts going and Tim took advantage. You can't fight like that if you want to win."

Arlovski, who was the Belarus national sambo submission wrestling champion before coming over to the states, hinted he may go back to his roots in this fight. "I've done a lot of jiu-jitsu training," he said. "I work on my boxing and everything else, but I've spent a lot of time with my jiu-jitsu."

But even if they hit the mat, don't expect it to last long.

Digger Stiles · 07-07-2006, 06:27 AM

Nice article, but...

"(Sylvia has been tested several times since and has come up clean every time)"

He has tested positively after that actually

"The first hints of the new Sylvia emerged last summer at UFC 56, when he knocked out respected veteran Tra Telligman with a picture-perfect flying kick to the head that seemed to defy the laws of physics."

It was everything but picture-perfect or flying, it was akward and he had his right foot firmly on the floor.

"All but one — the submission win over Sylvia — were the direct result of Arlovski's lethal striking ability, and even the victory over Sylvia was set up by Arlovski's nasty overhand right."

The sub against Sylvia was pretty much the direct result of Arlovski's overhand right.

Miral · 07-07-2006, 07:13 AM

AA will kick ass
but respect to tim

PaladinPup · 07-07-2006, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Arlovski, who was the Belarus national sambo submission wrestling champion before coming over to the states, hinted he may go back to his roots in this fight. "I've done a lot of jiu-jitsu training," he said. "I work on my boxing and everything else, but I've spent a lot of time with my jiu-jitsu."

But even if they hit the mat, don't expect it to last long

.

To me this asnwers the question weather AA will be smart and use his strength against against TS weaknesses.

We'll see... I can't wait!

nok_u_out · 07-07-2006, 03:15 PM

geee- i wish i was 6'8- so could be asked to join an mma team

juggo · 07-07-2006, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BalrogOfMorgoth

[In a story that provides inspiration for wannabe UFC fighters everywhere, Sylvia drove with a group of friends from Maine to Atlantic City for UFC 28 in 2000. Before the show, the then 330-pound Sylvia was spotted by mixed martial arts legend Pat Miletich, whose Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Davenport, Iowa is currently riding high as the most successful MMA stable in North America.

"He said 'you're a big son of a b----. You do any fighting?'" said Sylvia. "I told him I did and they invited me out to Iowa. I went out there and they beat the hell out of me for a couple weeks and I loved it. I wanted more. I sold all my stuff back in Maine and moved to Iowa."
[/i]

Interesting, didn't know that.

Miletich scouts UFC crowds apparently.