Philipe Lins Signs With UFC, Takes on Andrei Arlovski at UFC Oklahoma City
A former Professional Fighters League champ has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and he will make his debut against an ex-UFC champion in May.
On Friday morning, The Oklahoman reported that 2018 PFL heavyweight champ Philipe Lins (14-3) has signed with the UFC, and he will come to blows with Andrei Arlovski (28-19, 2 NC) in his debut. The news was later confirmed by Arlovski on his Instagram page. The two will collide at UFC Oklahoma City on May 2.
Lins took 2019 off after capturing gold in the PFL as well as the $1 million prize, as he suffered an undisclosed injury that knocked him out of the organization’s sophomore season. With the PFL, he dispatched four opponents throughout the year to win the top prize at heavyweight. Prior to his lucrative 2018 showings, Lins suffered back-to-back knockouts with Bellator MMA to eject him from the California-based promotion.
Arlovski has won one lone bout in his last five appearances, taking a spirited decision over Ben Rothwell at UFC on ESPN 4 in July 2019. That single win is surrounded by losses to Tai Tuivasa, Shamil Abdurakhimov, Augusto Sakai and most recently, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The ex-champ sports three victories in his last 13 outings dating back to 2016, although his defeats were all against top-15 opponents at the time. The most active fighter in UFC heavyweight history with 31 bouts, Arlovski also posts the most wins in divisional history with 17.
UFC Oklahoma City will go down at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 2 in Oklahoma City. The event will be headlined by a middleweight scrap between former king Chris Weidman and Jack Hermansson.
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