Josh Barnett picked up a needed victory when he stepped inside the Octagon in the main event of UFC Fight Night 93 on Saturday afternoon against fellow veteran and former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
Both men set a high pace at the very beginning of the fight, and rocked each other multiple times less than a minute into the five-round headliner. But that pace did not last long; Arlovski and Barnett’s chins both held up during their early wild exchange and they subsequently slowed down rapidly in the second round. Barnett began to take over in the latter half of the second round and into the third round in the clinch and on the mat. Barnett was clearly the fresher fighter mid-way through the bout, and his extraordinary submission skills showed off, as well. Barnett was able to land a dominant position a couple minutes into the third round, grabbed a hold of Arlovski’s neck and sunk in a rear-naked-choke for the tap-out victory.
What was the highlight of the fight?
Well, it was just that: Barnett’s submission of “The Pit Bull.” Barnett went back to his routes in this fight because he knew he needed a victory coming off a surprising submission loss to Ben Rothwell, and it certainly paid off. Barnett had a power disadvantage on the feet — and he knew that — so he took it to the ground instead. Barnett was looking for a whole whack of submissions leading up to the finishing sequence, but ended up finishing Arlovski off with a rear-naked-choke.
Where do these two go from here?
Barnett, despite winning on Saturday, is never going to beat the best of the best at heavyweight, nor will he make another title run in the division. But he’s a fun fighter than can still win fights, and that’s exactly what he’ll do. There aren’t too many options for “The Warmaster” right now because lots of the top 15 (minus the top three or so) are coming off losses. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva may need to side with the non-favored “winner vs. loser” style of matchmaking for Barnett next, unless Barnett is given Junior Dos Santos or Fabricio Werdum.
Arlovski has now lost three in a row and hasn’t won since his decision over Frank Mir nearly a year ago. He nearly got a crack at the heavyweight belt at the end of 2015, but now he’s very, very far away from the top of the division. I wouldn’t mind seeing him step away from the sport, but he’ll probably take one or two more fights.
Watch now, later, or never?
This was a pretty good fight, actually. Barnett vs. Arlovski deservedly picked up Fight of the Night honors. You should give it a watch right away.