UFC 271 results: Andrei Arlovski wins third fight in a row with split decision over Jared Vanderaa

Don’t look now but Andrei Arlovski has picked up three wins in a row after earning a split decision over Jared Vanderaa in the featured prelim at UFC 271.

A strong start and better strikes landed round after round helped Arlovski eke out the win against Vanderaa, who struggled to really put together any truly effective offense all night long. While it wasn’t the most exhilarating affair, Arlovski consistently connected whenever he threw his combinations and that helped him win the fight with two judges giving him the fight by 29-28 scores while the third judge gave Vanderaa the same 29-28 score.

Regardless, the result still ended up in Arlovski’s favor as he wins his 33rd professional fight while moving to 5-1 overall in his past six outings.

Coming into the fight with momentum, Arlovski was quick out of the gate with several stinging shots that caught Vanderaa’s attention and put him on his backfoot almost immediately. While Vanderaa was able to absorb those early strikes, he was definitely wary of the power coming back from the former heavyweight champion as Arlovski looked sharp on his feet through the first round.

While Arlovski wasn’t quite as active moving into the second round, he was still tagging Vanderaa with the better punches whenever they would step into exchanges. Arlovski was also starting to establish a well-timed jab with Vanderaa attempting to counter by closing the distance but then getting stuck in the body lock on several occasions.

The output wasn’t exactly dynamic from either fighter but Arlovski was always connecting with the bigger strikes, although Vanderaa was doing his best to move forward and control the center of the cage in an attempt to comeback.

In the end it wasn’t enough as Arlovski notches his third win in a row while taking yet another step forward in the heavyweight division where he remains a perennial contender at 43 years of age.