Arlovski (15-7), a former UFC heavyweight champion, most recently suffered a 22-second TKO loss to Brett Rogers at a June 6 Strikeforce event.
The late booking allowed Arlovski to fight on the Showtime-televised portion of the St. Louis card. However, he was quickly staggered and beaten with strikes by Rogers until the TKO stoppage.
Prior to the loss, Arlovski fought top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and suffered a first-round knockout loss at “Affliction: Day of Reckoning” in January. Arlovski had posted five consecutive wins (all but one via knockout) before the back-to-back losses.
Arlovski was one of Affliction’s biggest earners. He earned $750,000 ($250,000 of which was a win bonus) for a win over Ben Rothwell in July 2008, and he earned an additional $1.5 million disclosed salary in the loss to Emelianenko.
Now that he’s headed to the free-agent market, he’s unlikely to find such sizable paydays, though his notoriety and past UFC title run should draw plenty of suitors domestically and abroad.
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Following a nine-second knockout loss at Adrenaline 3 Saturday night, Tim Sylvia has been removed from Affliction “Trilogy” on Aug. 1. The former UFC heavyweight champ was scheduled to take on former UFC contender Paul Buentello.
The news was first reported by AOL Fanhouse and subsequently confirmed by MMAWeekly.com.
Affliction vice president Tom Atencio said the decision was made out of concern for Sylvia’s health.
“I just think it’s too soon, and Monte (Cox, Sylvia’s manager) thinks it is, too,” said Atencio. “We all agree that it should be 90 days off and I just don’t want to be that promoter that takes a chance. Tim’s a friend of mine, and even if he wasn’t a friend, it’s just too dangerous.”
Atencio said Buentello would likely face the winner of Gilbert Yvel vs. Pedro Rizzo, the co-main event of June 27’s “Ultimate Chaos” in Biloxi, Miss. Atencio will face Randy Hedderick on the event’s undercard.
“But it depends on how beat up they are, obviously,” he qualified. “I don’t want to bring one of those guys in if they’re all beat to hell, too.”
Sylvia recently signed a new contract with Affliction and may return at the end of the year or in the first quarter of 2010, Atencio noted.
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