Lost in the talk of Fedor Emelianenko's first ass-kicking is the possibility that we might have seen another great champion fight his last fight on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva. Former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski lost to Sergei Kharitonov in the co-headliner. It was his fourth straight loss, three of them coming via KO.

Dr. Johnny Benjamin says enough is enough. He says Arlovski should never be medically cleared to fight again and elaborates:

Since January 2009, Arlovski has suffered three documented major concussions (to Emelianenko, Brett Rogers and now Sergei Kharitonov). Many other minor concussions went unnoticed, and any fighter is going to take countless routine blows to the head during sparring and training. Ongoing research suggests that repetitive blows to the head (including those that do not produce concussions or any symptoms at all) are cumulative in nature and can be injurious to the brain. This battered brain syndrome is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and is very serious. A prudent doctor and athletic commission will have a very difficult time ignoring the cumulative brain trauma sustained throughout Arlovski's career and the growing mountain of evidence related to CTE.

Sad as it is to think we've seen the last of Andrei Arlovski in the cage, it's much sadder to contemplate his future if he doesn't listen to this sage advice.

Hang 'em up Andrei. You won more than your share of glory.

Ed. Note by Brent Brookhouse: I wrote about chronic traumatic encephalopathy on BE in the past. That article can be read here.