Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Don’t look now, but Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Andrei
Arlovski is a few appearances away from the UFC’s all-time
record. On Friday, a heavyweight matchup pitting Arlovski (32-20, 2 NC)
against Jared
Vanderaa (12-6) was announced by Vanderaa’s management team of
Iridium
Sports Agency. The two are set to battle it out on the loaded
UFC 271 card on Feb. 12, which will take place in the Toyota
Center in Houston. The former heavyweight champ confirmed the news
of this matchup on his
Instagram shortly after it was announced.
Arlovski will be entering into his 37th UFC bout when he takes on
Vanderaa, one shy of the record currently held by Jim Miller
while tying Donald
Cerrone for the second-most in UFC history. “The Pitbull” is
far and away the most active heavyweight to ever compete inside the
Octagon, and his 37 fights in the division will put him 10 above
the next closest name in Frank Mir – the
next active name with the highest number of heavyweight battles is
Derrick
Lewis, who will have his 24th UFC tilt on this card. As a
result of his activity, Arlovski holds the most wins (21), the
third-most finishes (11), the fifth-most knockouts (nine) and the
most decision victories (10) in UFC heavyweight history.
His opponent Vanderaa will be entering into his fourth UFC bout,
where he has won once by decision over Justin
Tafa. The 2020 Dana White’s Contender Series signee punched
his ticket to the big leagues with a first-round knockout of
Harry
Hunsucker, and he went on to make his debut in 2021 only to get
knocked out by Sergey
Spivak. Although he had the bounce back over Tafa three months
later, his last outing came in October when Alexander
Romanov stopped him with strikes late into the second frame.
“The Mountain” has a finish rate of 83% across a career that began
in 2015, over 16 years after Arlovski’s started.
With 16 bouts currently scheduled on the billing, UFC 271 will take
place on Feb. 12 in the Toyota Center in Houston. Fans in the
building will be treated to a middleweight championship rematch
between Israel
Adesanya and Robert
Whittaker in the main event. The remainder of the billing is
currently unclear, but the co-headliner is expected to be Jared
Cannonier’s clash with Derek
Brunson at 185 pounds. Derrick
Lewis will be appearing on this Houston card against Tai Tuivasa
at heavyweight, in a rumble that will earn main card placement.
