The Bottom Line: Common Concerns

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media. When Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski meet in the UFC Fight Night 87 main event this Sunday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, it will be a matchup between perhaps the two fighters in the history of the sport whose fates have been most dictated by their chins. When their chins have held up, they have both risen to the top of the sport and had extended success. When their chins have failed them, they have looked like they could lose to practically anyone with decent striking power. MMA by its nature is a sport where fate can turn in an instant. Unlike in most sports where mistakes can be overcome over the course of a game, in MMA, one mistake can negate everything else that happened in a mere split second. The knockout is the most violent and sudden reminder of this reality, something that all fighters need to be aware of in their preparation and at all times in the fight. The threat of being knocked out is something with which all fighters must deal, but that threat is not evenly distributed throughout the sport. Its danger exists most strongly in the heavyweight division, where greater size and power leads to higher knockout rates. From Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Filipovic and Randy Couture to Josh Barnett, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum, the greatest heavyweights of all-time all tend to get knocked out sooner or later. Even in that heavyweight division, Overeem and Arlovski are outliers in just how much their ability to take punishment has affected the ebbs and flows of their careers. From early on in his career, the biggest question about Arlovski was his chin. He had great athleticism and striking ability, but the right punch would put out his lights. When he emerged as a …

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