What in the world was Andrei doing??? I can understand his being cautious since he knows Tim can knock him out. But dang, he almost looked scared of Tim. Granted, Tim did nothing but counterpunch the entire fight, but geez that fight was so disappointing. I was utterly shocked at that. Your thoughts?

I don't know that Arlovski's game plan was the best for that fight. It seems that both guys were content to stay outside and pot-shot each other, waiting for that perfect counter-punch to land. And that is an ok way to fight, but it's often not very entertaining, nor does it often lead to a dominating fight by either side.

I only saw the first round and figured that the last 4 rounds mimicked the first and that it would've been pointless to watch (considering it went to a decision).

If you're going to dethrone a champ, you can't leave it in the hands of the judges. For Arlovski to have won would mean that he would have had to do more damage. Pot-shotting doesn't often lead to a great deal of damage.

I believe Silvia's game plan was perfect. He fought just like Liddell which is, to stay back and force your opponent to come to YOU while you counter-punch. If your opponent doesn't come in, the fight goes to the judges and the champ retains the belt. If you DO come in on a counter fighter, you run the risk of being knocked out. Arlovski wasn't willing to risk that from what I saw.



-John

I think that Sylvia played the game right and that Andre did not prove to the judges enough to justify him winning. In the last round Andre had nothing to lose and everything to gain and he should have shot for the fences. If he got knocked out then so be it but he may have knocked out Sylvia and then have been crowned the Heavy Weight Champion. Now Andre is put to the side and won't get another chance for some time. All of that training for not.

Wasn't an impressive fight and I think that nobody really gave Sylvia a fighter's chance to win so good on him. The only bad thing is that it went 5 rounds and that took away from our viewing pleasure of seeing other fights on the card.

" if you dont understand the fighting... its hard to enjoy strategy based fights"

True enough. But I do understand the fighting and I still didn't enjoy it. Even Big John was yelling "do something!" and "let's work guys!", and even "Don't leave it to the judges!". In Pride they get a yellow card and it costs them purse money. I HIGHLY doubt this is a mis-understanding of fighting. If you watch their past fights, this looked like two people who were WAY too hesitant. And while I'm at it, where the heck was Arlovski's corner? You'd think at least one person would have been telling him to work that leg kick, he could have racked up some serious points and damage if he would have just stuck with that kick. I can understand Tim hanging back and being patient, but Andrei didn't have that luxury. As a challenger you have to come in and take that belt. I guarantee that Monson will bring Sylvia a fight, and I can't wait to see it.

I am curious if Arlovski injured himself kicking Sylvia those repeated times? He didn't look so comfortable kicking and this might be the reason why. We also thought he should have kept up with this kind of attack as it seemed to be working and yes Sylvia's leg was red and sore. If you can't knock them out then chop away; the head will follow.