Andrei Arlovski in limbo, because Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez won't happen until March

LAS VEGAS -- The heavyweight title is on ice. And Andrei Arlovski is going to be left in the lurch.

Arlovski beat Frank Mir via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 191 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. He has now won six straight, including four in a row since his return to the UFC. Arlovski has done enough to warrant a title shot. It just won't be happening any time soon.

UFC president Dana White said in the post-fight press conference Saturday that the heavyweight title fight between champion Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez likely will not happen until March. White said "that's when Werdum wants to fight."

"Unfortunately this heavyweight division is tied up right now and the fight won't happen probably until March, the next heavyweight fight," White said. "We'll see how this thing plays out and we'll go from there."

Arlovski (25-10, 1 NC) didn't have his greatest performance at UFC 191, especially after his first-round knockout of Travis Browne at UFC 187 in May. Arlovski, 36, looked good in the first round, but then slowed down considerably as Mir used his size advantage in the clinch and on the ground. The second and third rounds were largely listless until a flurry by both men late.

"To be honest, I thought he was going to give me a really hard time the first minute or two," Arlovski said. "I felt strong, but he kept coming and kept coming, took me down a couple times. And for some reason, I was real tired. But I took lessons and definitely next fight is going to be better."

Arlovski and Mir are both former UFC heavyweight champions. They were supposed to fight 10 years ago before Mir got injured in a motorcycle accident. Somehow, a decade later, the two men have once again become factors in the division. Mir had two straight first-round knockouts heading into this fight.

"For these guys to still be there doing what they're doing, it's impressive," White said. "I don't think the fight tonight was the fight that everybody expected, but sometimes it doesn't turn out that way."

Stipe Miocic will meet Ben Rothwell in another important heavyweight fight next month in Dublin and Junior dos Santos fights Alistair Overeem in December. With the title on hold, maybe it makes sense for Arlovski to fight the winner of one of those bouts. But if there were a title shot readily available, "The Pitbull" would have been right there.

"What Andrei has done coming back into the UFC and going on the run that he's gone on, it's amazing," White said. "Obviously, the judges gave him the decision tonight in this fight. His fight against Travis Browne was unbelievable. I don't know if many people picked Arlovski in that fight."