The Pitbull Returns!

Behind the massive story lines of Cro Cop's final fight before a title shot and Michael Bisping appearing before his home nation, there's an imposing 6'4" pitbull who doesn't want you to forget him. At UFC 70, he'll do his best to make sure he's never forgotten again. Despite his impressive victories, championship title, and brilliant Sambo skills, Andrei Arlovski has been pushed into the basement of the Heavyweight division.

After losing two of his first three fights to superstars at the time, Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo, the bear-like Arlovski went on an absolute tear, winning his next 6 fights over the course of more than 3 years. During this run, he impressively tapped out 6'8" Tim Sylvia at UFC 51. To Sylvia's credit, he avenged the loss against Arlovski with a TKO win at UFC 59. This set up the much-hyped rubber match at UFC 61. On only two PPVs notice, Arlovski lost a close split decision to Sylvia, with two of three judges scoring the bout 48-47. Arlovski apparently had been hit by a leg kick sometime in the second round which left him unable to kick or make any takedown attempts. After the fight, the injury caused his ankle and knee on his left leg to swell up to about four times its normal size. (How bad ass is he?). Sylvia also had injuries after the fight, fainting at his hotel room. Upon hospital examination, doctors discovered a concussion which was undetected after the match. That's what happens when you beat Andrei Arlovski: you lose anyway.

Even though Sylvia lost the title two PPVs later to Randy "Father Time" Couture, he remained at the top of the division and was still regarded as a top fighter in the division. However, Arlovski, who owned the more impressive of the wins in the split between him and Sylvia, was cast to the bottom of the pool. Without notice, he was facing the likes Mario Cruz (who only beat Frank Mir because of the motorcycle accident). Meanwhile, Sylvia, who was on the lucky end of a one point decision, is being considered for a title rematch.

I easily consider Arlovski the better fighter between the two, making him the better choice to line up for fights against guys like Cro Cop, Couture, and Nogueira...not the boring, generally disliked, and out-of-shape Tim Sylvia. Also, the man has fangs. As Carlito would say, "Now that's cool."