Andrei Arlovski and Martin Budai at the UFC 303 official weigh-in. Photo credit: Eddie Law/Cageside Press
The UFC’s most experienced heavyweight veteran will step into the Octagon for his 42nd time in his 60th fight in Saturday’s UFC 303 prelims between Andrei Arlovski and Martin Budai.
The former champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Arlovski aligned himself with Jackson-Wink MMA late in his career and adopted a more technical, less brawling style that resulted in his longevity.
The two men grappled along the cage in the early going, with Buday putting his weight on “The Pit Bull.” He landed some hard punches in Arlovski’s sides but didn’t do any serious damage. But Buday was taking Arlovski’s weight, and Arlovski was occasionally popping off the cage only to be pushed right back in. The first round played out like this, and it felt like the fight hadn’t even started yet.
Arlovski landed a high kick early in the second round, but Buday quickly backed him off and landed an uppercut, sending the former champion circling around. Now Arlovski backed Buday into the fence and they both went for knees. Back in the center, Arlovski landed a leg kick and Buday responded with a left hand. They clinched in the center and fought for head position, eventually forcing Arlovski against the cage again. Buday tried to fight back but was blocked, and Arlovski went for a knee.
Back in the center, Arlovski landed a couple of jabs. Budai opened things up a little with a right, and Arlovski again pressed the younger Budai against the fence, to the dissatisfaction of the crowd. The referee finally decided enough was enough and restarted the fight with 30 seconds left in the round. Arlovski got a little busy in what was a good round for a 45-year-old.
Between rounds, Andrei Arlovski’s corner told him to give it his all in the final round of a fight that at that point may have been a one-round win or lose. In the opening seconds of the third round, Arlovski landed a low kick. His jab pushed Budai back. Budai started attacking again, but again had to fight the jab. Budai landed a jab and got a knee in the clinch. Staying clinched in the center, Budai got busy with punches and knees.
Arlovski resumed the fight just as he had done successfully in the second round, putting Buday in a bind. This time Arlovski landed a low blow that sent him to his knees while the referee paused the bout so he could recover. After about 90 seconds, Arlovski was ready to continue and the two started the match with some renewed energy. Buday landed an uppercut, the two clinched, Martin Buday put Arlovski in a bind, but the veteran Arlovski was able to turn it around. Arlovski took a knee and Buday tapped him on the shoulder. Again, after a few seconds, referee Mark Smith restarted the bout. This allowed Buday to go on the offensive, but it was Arlovski’s spinning backfist that got the best reaction of the night from the crowd, which was aimed but blocked.
Arlovski looked to try and grab a clinch in the closing seconds but was unsuccessful, instead landing a weak spinning back kick to push Budai back against the cage before the final bell sounded.
On the scorecards, Budai won by split decision, and if there was any expectation that Andrei Arlovski would hang up his gloves, that didn’t happen — at least not inside the cage.
Official result: Martin Budai defeats Andrei Arlovski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
