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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
In a fight absolutely no one was clamoring for, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia will square off for a fourth time on Aug. 31 in the Philippines at ONE FC 5.
The organization announced the fight on Friday, which came about when Sao Palelei dropped out of a bout with Arlovski on the event.
Both former UFC Heavyweight Champions, Sylvia and Arlovski fought three times in 2005 and 2006, each earning a first round stoppage over the other before posting one of the worst trilogy fights in UFC history at UFC 61. Sylvia won the tedious five round affair, but both fighters drew the ire of fans for their performances in that bout.
Sylvia thought he'd be making his return to the Zuffa fold this fall, as he was linked to a September bout with Strikeforce Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier. However, the UFC then exported Frank Mir to Strikeforce for that bout, opting not to sign Sylvia to a contract. He'll look to earn his fourth win in a row in this bout, which would give him eight wins in nine fights.
Arlovski, who lost in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix last year, picked up two straight knockout wins in Pro Elite last year to snap a four fight losing streak.
Penick's Analysis: A rematch of a six-year-old trilogy that didn't end well isn't really much of a draw, but Sylvia and Arlovski are two of the more well-known names outside of the Zuffa fold. ONE FC obviously thinks they can get a little interest behind this fight, at least to get eyeballs on the event for the fights and fighters that actually mean a little in 2012. There will be a lot more worth watching on their Aug. 31 event than this fight, that's for sure, but all they're hoping for from this fight is that it will get people to tune in to the event itself.
[Andrei Arlovski art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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