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SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
February - 2015
43
ing, and not that far re-
moved from their glory
days, still with their hard-
core fanbase intact. And
as the UFC and Bellator
look for ways to increase
ratings, suddenly, fighters
just a few years ago con-
sidered “past their prime”
are looking more like
“guaranteed box office
draws.”
Take a look at a few recent
examples that rounded out
last year: Andrei Arlovski,
former UFC heavyweight
champion, and Tito Ortiz,
former UFC light heavy-
weight champion. Both
were in exile from the
UFC, their careers, many
thought, over. In Arlovski’s
case, the argument was
that his chin was shot. For
Tito, it was being without
a relevant win in years,
and a long feud with the
UFC and Dana White. Plus
the injuries. There’s always
the injuries.
These two, it was common
knowledge, were done.
Then a funny thing hap-
pened: the MMA pendu-
lum shifted, and promo-
tions remembered that as
much as they were a sport,
they were also promoters,
who to date had failed at
the brand-first approach.
So in the absence of star
power (since neither UFC
nor Bellator were doing a
great job of building up
fighters, though for differ-
ent reasons), they latched
on to these fighters of old.
And it paid off.
Arlovski was re-signed by
the UFC after going on
an impressive run in the
WSOF, where his only loss
was to Anthony Johnson,
and thanks in part to a
punch after the bell that
broke his jaw. Since his re-
turn to the big show, he’s
2-0, eking out a decision
over Brendan Schaub and
knocking out Antonio Sil-
va in what many thought
was an upset.
In 2015, Andrei Arlovski
is a top ten heavyweight.
How many saw that com-
ing?
Ortiz, meanwhile, landed
in Bellator, and after a false
start in 2013, is suddenly
on a two fight win streak,
having beat then-middle-
weight champion Alexan-
der Shlemenko (who was
fighting up in weight) and
UFC Hall of Famer Stephan
Bonnar. While this is a win
over a vastly undersized
opponent and a Bonnar
well past his expiry date,
it’s still more than most ex-
pected from Ortiz — and
the attention the fight got
was more than impressive.
In fact, it gave Bellator
bragging rights as it was
the most-watched MMA
fight on cable in 2014.
They probably should have
sent a thank you note to
the UFC, who released
Bonnar to take the fight.
In 2015, Tito Ortiz may
have a shot at the Bellator
light heavyweight cham-
pionship. How many saw
that coming?
Arlovski’s success can
be seen as the more im-
pressive from an athletic
standpoint, but it’s the
Ortiz-Bonnar fight that re-
ally opened eyes. With the
UFC struggling badly and
Bellator a distant second
outside of a handful of
big events, both promo-
tions realized that names,
even old names, are game
changers.
And so the UFC stole
away Rampage Jackson,
who had already paid divi-
dends for Bellator. Though
the matter may wind up
in court, Jackson is set to
make his UFC return in
Montreal in 2015. Why?
Because while many a fan
feels Rampage’s best days
are behind him, casual