5 biggest winners from UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2
With a huge middleweight title clash in the headline bout and a number of other big fights elsewhere on the card, the stakes were always high at UFC 271.
While UFC 271 wasn’t quite as stacked as the biggest pay-per-views we’ve seen recently, it definitely delivered the goods for the most part. A number of fighters will be pleased with their efforts today.
With a number of fighters climbing the ladder towards title shots – and one in particular remaining at the peak of his division – this will be a show that has ramifications for the rest of 2022 and further on.
With that in mind, here are the five biggest winners from UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2.
#5. Andrei Arlovski – defeated Jared Vanderaa in a UFC heavyweight bout
Okay, so it’s safe to say that nobody would’ve considered Andrei Arlovski’s win over Jared Vanderaa as a classic. In fact, it probably doesn’t rank within the top-15 wins of Arlovski’s career.
However, the fact that ‘The Pitbull’ is still competing in the UFC’s heavyweight division at the age of 43, after being written off on so many occasions before, makes him one of the biggest winners from last night’s event.
Sure, Arlovski definitely isn’t going to move into title contention any time soon. In fact, judging by the struggles he had against Vanderaa, who was 1-2 in the octagon coming into the bout, to put him against an opponent like Derrick Lewis or Ciryl Gane would be downright dangerous.
However, ‘The Pitbull’ clearly outworked ‘The Mountain’ in all areas and deserved his victory, which, bizarrely, puts him on a three-fight winning streak.
How much longer can Arlovski remain competing in the promotion, even against lower-level opponents like Vanderaa, is anyone’s guess. After all, his chin was seemingly cracked well over a decade ago now.
For now at least, though, he remains a solid member of the roster. While his best years are blatantly behind him, he’s the kind of fighter that fans should appreciate a little more while they still have the chance.