Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski Signs With Strikeforce; Will Fight Antonio Silva in May

Sherdog brings word that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has signed a deal to fight for Strikeforce:

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski signed a multi-fight, 16-month contract with Strikeforce on Monday, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Arlovski is likely to face one-time EliteXC champion Antonio Silva on May 15 in St. Louis, Mo., in his sophomore effort with the promotion, Sherdog.com has learned. Arlovski appeared on 10 days’ notice for Strikeforce last June as part of a co-promotional effort with Affliction Entertainment. Brett Rogers shocked the 31-year-old Belarusian out of the gate with a 22-second knockout victory.
Arlovski hasn’t competed in MMA since, but boxed a four-round exhibition against former heavyweight contender Fres Oquendo last Saturday in Miami for “The Consequences Charity.”

This is a big move for the promotion and beyond a fight with Silva there are legitimately interesting fights for him in Strikeforce such as Alistair Overeem, Bobby Lashley, and rematches with both Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers. One of my personal mantras is that there is not much to take away from KO’s in under 30 seconds as they generally aren’t repeatable performances but the loss to Rogers did serve as a reminder of Arlovski’s notoriously poor chin.

The expected fight with Antonio Silva is extremely interesting as Silva is a large heavyweight and presents a test on the floor and has decent stand-up skills. If Arlovski is able to properly utilize his distance and angled striking he should be able to take home the win. He’s taking a much more legitimate path to attempt to regain relevancy in the division than the man who his name will always be tied to, Tim Sylvia.

The signing has been confirmed on Arlovski’s official site:

As promised I wanted to tell you all first hand, I have a multi-fight deal for the next 16 months with Strikeforce and I cannot wait to get into the ring and show the world what I have been working on the last few months! I invite everyone to join me this Friday at 8PM CST on Arlovski.com for a Live Video Chat to discuss this announcement!