Two veteran heavyweights that dominated the early days of the UFC’s Zuffa era are set to collide for a fourth time. Tim Sylvia will clash once again with Andre Arlovski at ONE FC on August 31st in the Phillippines.
Sylvia has gotten the better of Arlovski in their previous meetings, winning two out of the three fights. After losing in their first fight, Sylvia defeated Arlovski in April of 2006 to capture the UFC heavyweight championship. He again defeated him in a rematch July of the same year to retain the title.
Both men have seen better days inside the cage. Beginning in January 2009, Arlovski suffered four straight losses (three by knockout) before he found a win over Ray Lopez in 2011 in ProElite. He returned three months later to score a third round head kick KO win over Travis Fulton.
Armed with back-to-back wins Arlovski was originally set to fight heavyweight phenom Soa Palelei for ONE FC, however, the Asian MMA promotion announced on their Facebook page that Palelei is out and Sylvia would step in.
Sylvia has been relegated to the regional circuit but was recently rumored to fight Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce. A winner in his last three outings Sylvia is desperately trying to get Dana White and the UFC’s attention.
ONE FC : Pride of a Nation is set to take place on August 31st in Manila, Philippines.