UFC 174 results, photos: Andrei Arlovski gets questionable split vs. Brendan Schaub

VANCOUVER – It wasn’t exactly the heavyweight slugfest we expected, but after a grueling, grinding three-round affair, Andrei Arlovski (22-10 MMA, 11-4 UFC) nabbed a narrow split decision victory (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) over a visibly upset Brendan Schaub (10-4, 6-4 UFC).

The heavyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 174 event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.

Things got off to a tentative start in the first round, with a prolonged feeling-out process that saw both fighters vie for position in the clinch as fans slowly lost their patience. While both big men loaded up in search of one fight-ending punch on the feet, the result was a lot of swinging and missing, followed by a good deal of glancing up at the clock.

The most significant action came in the third, when a bloodied Schaub put Arlovski on his back and went to work with punches from inside the Belarussian’s guard. As Schaub swung away and splattered his own blood on Arlovski’s chest, Arlovski seemed content to survive the onslaught before eventually summoning the energy to kick Schaub off and scramble to his feet. From there they finished the fight as they had spent much of the first two rounds, with each man coming up short in the search for a knockout blow, and both claiming victory at the horn.

And while Schaub seemed fairly certain that he’d get the nod from the judges, two of three sided with Arlovski in his UFC comeback.

With the win, Arlovski notches his first UFC victory since 2008. Schaub snaps a two-fight winning streak with the loss.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 174 results include:

• Andrei Arlovski def. Brendan Schaub via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Ovince Saint Preux def. Ryan Jimmo via verbal submission (kimura) – Round 2, 2:10
• Kiichi Kunimoto def. Daniel Sarafian via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:52
• Valerie Letourneau def. Elizabeth Phillips via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Yves Jabouin def. Mike Easton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Tae Hyun Bang def. Kajan Johnson via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 2:01
• Michinori Tanaka def. Roland Delorme via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jason Saggo def. Josh Shockley via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:57

For complete coverage of UFC 174, stay stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(John Morgan and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on-site in Vancouver.)