Back in 2005, one man ruled the heavyweight division. Andrei Arlovski was an exciting striker with fast hands and one punch knockout power. These traits led him to UFC gold. He would submit Tim Sylvia to earn the interim heavyweight title, and was later promoted to the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He would defend his title twice before back to back losses to the aforementioned Sylvia. Fighters like Arlovski can’t be kept down by a loss though, and the former champ rebounded with three straight wins, including a decision win over current number one contender Fabricio Werdum.
After these three wins, Arlovski opted not to re-sign his contract with the UFC and left to compete in other promotions. He went from the UFC and hit the ground running, earning wins over the likes of Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson (to this day, Arlovski is the only fighter to finish the durable Nelson, and he did so by knockout). Things were looking good for “The Pitbull”, as he was conisdered to be one of the best heavyweights in the world.
Then, he went on a sudden decline. A knockout loss to MMA legend and pound-for-pound great Fedor Emelianenko signalled the start of a four fight losing streak, three of which saw Arlovski be finished due to strikes. Many thought that Arlovski’s career was finished, and doubters of the former champ requested his retirement before he suffer another loss.
But Arlovksi wouldn’t quit. With the help of one of the best coaches in MMA today, Greg Jackson, he got himself refocused and back on track. He ended his losing streak that started in 2009 with a KO win over journeyman Travis Fulton in August of 2011, and since then he has only suffered one loss. In his last eight fights, he has six wins and one loss, with one no contest. Of those six wins, he has won four bouts via strikes.
With this momentum, Arlovski started to look like a great fighter once again. This hot streak caused Arlovksi to recieve attention from some of the top MMA promotions. Earlier this week, it was announced Arlovski was granted release from his contract with World Series of Fighting, and that he would return to the UFC. This was confirmed by UFC president himself Dana White via Twitter. This is great news for the former champ.
But the news only got better for Arlovski, since he will not only be returning to the best MMA organization to ever exist, he will also be doing so against a top opponent in the form of Brendan Schaub at UFC 174. Schaub is The Ultimate Fighter season 10 runner-up, possessing a 6-3 record with the promotion. As of April 19th, he was ranked #13 in the UFC’s heavyweight rankings. If Arlovski can defeat Schaub, not only will he have a successful return to the UFC, he will catapult himself right to the top of the division.
Other then the Schaub fight, there are plenty of interesting matchups for Arlovski. The heavyweight division has changed tremendously since he last fought for the UFC. A rematch with Roy Nelson would likely gather interest from fans, since Arlovski is the only man to finish Nelson and Nelson has changed as a fighter greatly since that loss. A fight with fellow striker Alistair Overeem would also be exciting for fans since it would almost certainly be an entertaining fight given the two fighters’ styles.
Regardless of who Arlovksi should fight in his most recent UFC stint, he has done well for himself. Especially since he was seemingly on his way to retirement just a few years ago. The MMA community will most likely be anitcipating Arlovksi’s return, and the outcome of his return fight can be watched by the world on June 14th at UFC 174.
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