Andrei Arlovski vs Don'Tale O'Neil Mayes Prediction: Aged Pitbull is Out of Practice

On June 4 in Las Vegas, former UFC champion and veteran Andrei Arlovski will welcome Don'Tale O'Neil Mayes into the octagon. The fight will be on the preliminary card of the UFC on ESPN 46 tournament.

A living MMA legend, former UFC champion, and the man who discovered Viacheslav Datsik, Orlovski is still kicking dust. He's no longer the Pitbull who fought without doubt and knocked out opponents despite their statuses, but neither is he the one who was haunted by the myth (or not?) of the glass jaw. 

Those stages are far behind. Andrei is a sensible, intelligent fighter; he doesn't take unnecessary risks. His plans are carefully drawn up, and experience helps him to follow them rigorously, even under the changing circumstances of the fight. Orlovsky no longer succumbs to emotion, and it is paying off. In the last three years, he's had eight bouts, which is a lot, considering his age. He failed only two - to Tom Aspinall (who finished Alexander Volkov and Sergey Spivak later) and in his last fight with Rogerio de Lima. Against de Lima, Orlovsky couldn't avoid punching, was knocked down, and choked in the first round.

Don'Tale O'Neil Mayes is by no means famous, a typical middleweight in the league whose job is to fill the cards. Although he is a basic judoka, Mayes prefers to fight in the standing. He wins and loses most of his fights early. Mayes always falls to strong opponents, but he looks pretty good when he gets opponents of that level. In the last bout, he lost on points to Augusto Sakai, performing poorly in standing or on the ground. 

None of the opponents likes to wrestle; they do it only if the standing is bad. Andrei, who got away in the last fight, will start cautiously, but the Brazilian, on the contrary, will try to impose an open bout. He's got a good chance here. Orlovsky is not very fond of pressing, he can't catch up with faster and younger competitors, and he usually falls after some punches.