Silva clinches his way to a UD win over Arlovski
Antonio "Big Foot" Silva rebounded well from his last loss, winning a unanimous decision over Andrei Arlovski, 29-28 on all three judges cards.
In the first round, Silva was aggressive, throwing leg kicks and punches for most of the round until he took Arlovski to the ground as the round ended. A few of the punches appeared to stagger Arlovski, but he continued on.
The second round had Arlovski showing off improved striking, but Silva's big strikes continued to eat away at Arlovski. After the two clinched up, Arlovski tried to take control but wasn't able to move the 265.5-lb. Silva. Referee John McCarthy separated them twice, making the fans in St. Louis happy.
Much to the fans' dismany, the fighters continued to clinch up to start the final round. When they were broken up, Silva landed more strikes before Arlovski moved in for yet another clinch. Silva finally tried for something different, taking Arlovski to the ground with just over a minute left in the fight. Silva landed a few shots before they returned to their feet and a clinch. With less than 15 seconds left in the bout, McCarthy separated the two. Arlovski seemed like he wanted to throw one more huge punch, but hesitated and the bell rang.
This is Arlovski's third loss in a row, but unlike the other two losses, first round knockouts to Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, this bout went to a decision. Arlovski showed flashes of his old self, but still has a ways to go to remain relevant in MMA's heavyweight division.
