ProElite, Inc. (fka PELE)

[Hole shot King]

Ex-UFC champs Arlovski, Sylvia win for ProElite

Andrei Arlovski made the most of his final second on Saturday.

After a mostly listless 14:59, Arlovski fired a left kick to the head that knocked journeyman Travis Fulton unconscious with one second left in their bout at ProElite's show in Moline, Ill. With the win, Arlovski has back-to-back victories for the first in more than three years.

Fulton is the most experienced fighter in professional mixed martial arts, with at least 247 wins to his credit. But his 49th loss was marked by long periods of inaction, as he and Arlovski spent much of the first two rounds circling each other or clinching against the fence while throwing few strikes.

Although Arlovski was knocked out in three of four consecutive losses from 2009 to 2011, Fulton rarely threw his powerful overhand right punch, preferring instead to clinch multiple. He was never able to drag his opponent down, although Arlovski found himself atop Fulton twice in the third round after stuffing his takedowns.

Regardless of positions, they did little damage to each other until Arlovski landed the fight-ending kick that left Fulton slumped on the ground against the fence, out cold with his eyes open.

Another former UFC champion won Saturday after a lackluster fight. Two-time UFC titleholder Tim Sylvia won a unanimous decision against Andreas Kraniotakes, a late replacement for injured Pedro Rizzo. The heavyweights tied each other up in clinchwork for most of three rounds, but Sylvia generally dictated the pace by leaning on Kraniotakes and often forcing him to fight defensively.

ProElite was revived this year by Stratus Media Group. The company used to be known as the parent of the now-defunct EliteXC brand, which gained brief prominence in 2008 by promoting Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson.

In other ProElite action on Saturday in Moline:

• A week after BJ Penn's latest setback, his younger brother suffered his first defeat. Reagan Penn lost a unanimous decision to lightweight Evan Cutts. Also reminiscent of his older sibling, Reagan Penn came out strong before tiring quickly. Most of the last two rounds saw Penn simply trying to survive against the cage or on the ground underneath Cutts, who improved to 3-0 as a pro fighter. Penn fell to 1-1.

BJ Penn is taking time off to decide whether to continue fighting, following his Oct. 29 loss to Nick Diaz. But the younger Penn plans to try at least one more fight; he said he did not give his best effort in training for Saturday's bout.

"I was being stubborn and thought I could walk through this fight," Reagan Penn said in a statement. "Now I know what it's like when you're in there and you feel like you can't hold your arms up. I disrespected the sport a little bit, but sometimes the best wake up call is getting your (butt) kicked."

• The promotion held the first round of a heavyweight tournament. Richard Odoms, Cody Griffin, Jake Heun and Ryan Martinez advanced to the semifinals, for which a date hasn't been set yet.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/post/2011-11-06/ex-ufc-champs-arlovski-sylvia-win-for-proelite/561858/1