Sherdog.com’s 2014 Comeback Fighter of the Year

3. Andrei Arlovski

After three straight losses in the Strikeforce cage led to his release in 2011, Andrei Arlovski drifted from ProElite to One Fighting Championship to the World Series of Fighting. The former UFC champion was, for the first time in his career, a journeyman, still capable of beating most heavyweights placed before him but without any clear path.

When “The Pit Bull” was released by WSOF in April to re-sign with the UFC after more than six years away, little was expected of his Octagon return. Despite winning six of his eight post-Strikeforce outings and suffering no knockouts, questions remained about Arlovski’s chin due to his high-profile string of KO losses. Slotted against onetime “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Brendan Schaub, Arlovski took a split decision in a lackluster fight which many fans and pundits felt should have gone the other way. Nonetheless, the Belarusian had returned, and he had knocked off one of the UFC’s few heavyweight prospects in the process.

Arlovski’s true return came in September, in a rematch with the man who had bested him in a 2010 Strikeforce bout: Antonio Silva. Their first meeting was hardly competitive, and most expected Silva to come away with another victory in the return bout, especially after a 2013 campaign which saw him knock out Alistair Overeem and go toe-to-toe with Mark Hunt in a five-round war. Instead, Arlovski shocked “Bigfoot” and used a noticeable speed advantage to floor the Brazilian with a straight right hand. A few hammerfists later, Silva was out cold and Arlovski had pounded new life into his second run in the UFC.

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