UFC Fight Night 93: Arlovski vs Barnett Date: September 3, 2016 Arena: Barclaycard, Arena City: Hamburg, Germany Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski (+130) vs Josh Barnett (-150) Fight Breakdown: The UFC Fight Night 93 main event will be a showdown between a pair of former UFC heavyweight champions, as Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski gets set to take on Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett. Arlovski is a +130 ($100 to win $130) underdog heading into the contest, with Barnett being a -150 ($150 to win $100) favorite to win at Several Bookmakerss. Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (25-12-1 NC MMA, 14-6 UFC) last saw action at UFC Fight Night 87 nearly four months ago, where he dropped a second round TKO loss to current UFC heavyweight title challenger Alistair Overeem. The ldefeat made it back-to-back losses for the Belarussian, who was coming off a first round TKO loss to current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Heading into this contest, he has his back against the wall and will be desperate to end his two-fight skid. “The Pitbull” is a a very well-rounded mixed martial artist who holds his own in every facet of the sport. He is solid on the feet and packs power in his hands, owning an impressive 17 of 25 professional mixed martial arts career victories by way of T/KO. Arlovski’s defensive grappling is good; he has a solid base and is hard to take down. Offensively, the Belarusian’s grappling is on-point, too, as he comes from a Sambo background, owning multiple titles in the sport. Training in high-altitude out of Jackson-Winkle MMA in Albuquerque, NM, Arlovski has excellent cardio and should be ready to go all 25 minutes against Barnett, if necessary. Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett (34-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is coming off a surprising second round submission loss to Ben Rothwell nine months ago and will be looking to get back on track with an impressive victory over fellow ex-UFC heavyweight title holder Arlovski. “The Warmaster” is a very talented grappler who possesses excellent takedowns, and scores them every which way possible. He excels in both wrestling and the submission game, as is evident in the fact that 20 of his 34 professional mixed martial arts victories have come by way of tapout. Once in top position, Barnett is relentless with the pressure, as he looks for submissions while attacking with strikes. He transitions very well, moving from position to position. To compliment his wrestling, he is solid in the striking department as well. He has kickboxing skills and loves using all limbs, especially his knees. Barnett is well-conditioned heavyweight and I expect he will be prepared for a full five rounds of action, should this heavyweight showdown reach it’s way to the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Gabe’s Thoughts: Putting it simply, I think Barnett should be a -220 betting favorite heading into this heavyweight main event, so I see value in him at his current offering price of -150 and like him for a play. He got caught in a choke by Ben Rothwell, who is vicious with his chokes and very under-rated with his submissions, in general. On the otherhand, Arlovski was finished via T/KO by Alistair Overeem just a few short months ago, and by Stipe Miocic just a few short months before that. This could potentially be his third T/KO loss this year and we are barely nine months into the year. I think he should have taken at least a year off and feel getting back in the Octagon so quickly can prove to be a big mistake, especially against an opponent like Barnett, who is out for blood. Gabe’s Call: Barnett by T/KO (knees and punches, 1:17 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Barnett (-150) 3u to win 2u
