Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia Meet for the Fourth Time at One FC 5
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is slated to make his One FC debut at the promotion’s “Pride of a Nation” event on Aug. 31 in the Philippines.
It will come against a different opponent than originally expected, however. Arlovski was expected to square off with Sao Palelei at One FC 5, but a recent shifting of gears now has him facing fellow former UFC champion Tim Sylvia, according to MMAWeekly.com sources.
Arlovski (17-9) has had a rough go of it since exiting the UFC in 2008. He started off by winning back-to-back bouts, but then embarked on a four-fight skid that left him searching. He has since rebounded with two recent victories before signing with One FC.
Arlovski was originally set to face Palelei, but the Australian tweeted that he would no longer be facing Arlovski because One FC wanted him to sign a five-fight contract and he refused.
In enters Tim Sylvia.
Sylvia (31-7) was recently in talks to face Daniel Cormier, but that fell apart when Strikeforce decided to put Cormier against another former UFC heavyweight champion in Frank Mir.
Now, Sylvia will head overseas for a fourth fight with Arlovski. Sylvia lost their first bout, but won back-to-back fights against the Belarusian at UFC 59 and UFC 61.
Sylvia is currently in the midst of a three-fight winning streak and has won seven of his last eight bouts.
Arlovski and Sylvia will fight on the One FC 5: Pride of a Nation fight card on Aug. 31 in Quezon City, Philippines.
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