Heading Into UFC 191 Bout With Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski Reflects On The Past
The UFC 191 wouldn’t be the first time that UFC wanted to book Frank Mir vs. Andrei Arlovski. Back in 2004 was. UFC brass wanted Frank Mir to defend the light heavyweight title at UFC 50 against Arlovski, but he couldn’t as he was involved in a motorcycle accident prior to the fight that left him unable to compete and was forced to drop the light heavyweight title.
On Saturday, the two will finally face off. Now, Arlovski believes Mir’s a much more dangerous fighter now than he was 10 years ago.
“At that time, and I still have a lot of respect for Frank, at that time, he was just dangerous on the ground because he is a black belt. Now he wants to fight and he fights very dangerous standing, so I have to keep in mind also he is not only a black belt and also has the power to knock people out. So I have to be ready for this as well,” said Arlovski during the UFC 191 media conference call.
It’s safe to say that both men are dangerous right now as both men are on winning streaks.
Frank Mir (18-9) is currently on a two-fight winning streak. In his last five bouts, he’s 2-3. He lost three straight bouts when he fought Daniel Cormier in April of 2013 by unanimous decision, he was knocked out in the first round by Josh Barnett at UFC 164 and then lost in a three-round war to Alistair Overeem at UFC 169 by decision. He rebounded with a first-round KO of Antonio Silva in February of 2014. He knocked out Todd Duffee in the first round at UFC Fight Night 71.
Andrei Arlovski is currently on a five-fight winning streak. He beat Mike Kyle in September of 2013 by unanimous decision, he beat Andreas Kraniotakes in November of that same year by second round KO and then returned to the UFC. He beat Brendan Schaub at UFC 174 by split decision and then knocked out Antonio Silva in September of 2014 by the first-round knockout. He knocked out 3 Travis Browne in the first round at UFC 187.
“It is going to be an honor to fight Frank because I am extremely happy for him. Frank and I, we’re like old school fighters. He is climbing back on the top right now, I’m number four, and I’m very excited for that fight and I’m sure the fans are too,” added the 36-year-old. “It’s an honor to face Frank in the co-main event at UFC 191 in Vegas.”
UFC 191 takes place this Saturday night (September 5, 2015) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
