Ex-UFC Champs Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia Collide in Fourth Meeting at One FC 5 in Philippines

Promotion officials announced that “The Pit Bull” will square off with fellow former UFC champion Tim Sylvia on Aug. 31 at One FC 5, which emanates from Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines. “Pride of a Nation” streams live on pay-per-view and features a notable cast of One FC debutants, including ex- Dream champions Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes, as well as former UFC lightweight ruler Jens Pulver.

Arlovski and Sylvia have met thrice before. Their first contest took place at UFC 51 in 2005, with Arlovski emerging the victor after dropping Sylvia early in round one and then submitting him with an Achilles lock. “The Maine-iac” would have his revenge the following year, however, as Sylvia bounced back from the brink of defeat to knock out Arlovski at UFC 59 and recapture the promotion's heavyweight title.

The two would then face off in a rubber match just two months later at UFC 61. This time, Arlovski was unable to close the distance to land the powerful right hand that had been his money maker in the first two bouts. Instead, Sylvia kept the Belarusian at bay with his massive reach, cruising to a unanimous decision to retain his belt.

Sylvia, 36, lost the UFC championship to Randy Couture in 2007 and was released the following year after falling by submission to ex-Pride champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Following a year on the shelf after a one-sided loss to top-ranked Fedor Emelianenko, Sylvia returned in 2009 as as super heavyweight and was knocked out by former Olympic boxing champion Ray Mercer. Sylvia would win seven of his next eight, however, returning to heavyweight last year and topping Andreas Kraniotakes before besting onetime Bellator talent Randy Smith six weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Arlovski, 33, won five consecutive fights following his losses to Sylvia, topping former IFL standouts Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson before also falling to Emelianenko. That loss would signal the start of a four-fight skid for Arlovski, who went 0-3 in his Strikeforce career before earning back-to-back wins in the ProElite cage to close out last year.