Yahoo Sports UFC 187 Results: Andrei Arlovski Finishes Travis Browne in Instant Classic
Former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski’s career resurgence continued on Saturday in dramatic fashion inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The eighth-ranked heavyweight finished third-ranked Travis Browne at UFC 187 by technical knockout late in the opening round.
The 36-year-old landed a counter right hand in the early going of the stanza that wobbled “Hapa.” He looked to finish with a series of punches to the body and head, but Browne covered and circled away. After staggering the Hawaiian a second time, Arlovski dropped Browne with a back fist.
One shot can often change everything, and it nearly did as Browne got to his feet and delivered a left hook that knocked Arlovski down. The former titleholder quickly got back up. Browne was unsteady on his feet and Arlvoski went in for the finish. After a lead uppercut connected clean followed by a right hand, the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
RELATED > UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier Full Live Results
The two former training partners are close friends. After the fight, Arlvoski apologized to Browne.
“Don’t ever (expletive) say you’re sorry,” replied Browne. “You better go get that [belt] now. It’s your job.”
Asked how difficult it was to fight someone so close to him, Arlovski answered, “hard.”
“I hope tonight isn’t going to affect our friendship,” he said during his post-fight interview. “I love him like a brother and I wish him the best.”
“When I threw a lot of punches at Travis’ face and he was still alive, (expletive) I almost quit. I got caught. I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” said Arlovski about having to recover from being knocked down.
For Arlovski, the win extended his winning streak to five and put him in contention for the title he once held.