Issue 119
September 2014
Back in the UFC after six years, 33-fight veteran Andrei ‘The Pit Bull’ Arlovski is proving there’s life in the old dog yet
Andrei Arlovski hasn’t lost his fire. No, we didn’t see the old, aggressive, unstoppable ‘Pit Bull’ of his mid-2000s UFC heavyweight championship reign in June – when he controlled his way to a close decision ‘W’ in his UFC return against Brendan Schaub. But, should the big Belarussian mistakenly think you’re asserting he has a glass jaw (courtesy of a crackly transatlantic phone line) you’ll certainly get a taste of the venom that made Arlovski one of MMA’s premier fighters.
Because despite that lethargic win in Vancouver at UFC 174, a performance the attending fans and Arlovski himself disproved of, the 35-year-old, six-foot-four heavyweight is full of energy.
All because his career has been refreshed. Ever since UFC president Dana White announced in April ‘The Pit Bull’ would return to the promotion after a six-year, 8-5 (1 NC) hiatus.
“I’m not going to lie to you, some times were great, some times were bad,” says Arlovski of his time away, noting that it gave him life experiences and opened a few doors.
With his first UFC win in six years, Andrei is wanting to put the bad times behind him. Which includes a reputation for being easy to knock out.
Although regarded as more a dispenser of KO finishes before he left the UFC in 2008, that was reversed when three of four sequential losses between ‘09 and ‘11 were knockouts or TKOs.
The association is one that, for obvious reasons, the Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA fighter isn’t fond of. But it’s also a demon he believes he exorcised long before he survived Schaub’s hardest shots in June.
“Some people said that I did have a glass chin in the past, but when I fought Anthony Johnson in World Series of Fighting (March 2013), because some idiot missed the bell it caused a broken jaw in two places,” recalls Arlovski, referencing the bout’s timekeeper allowing round one to go too long and him taking a jaw-shattering punch in ‘over time’.
“In the second and third round, I fought with a broken jaw in two places. Every punch, in the chest and in the head, hurt. I was very happy to shut the f**king mouths of those who said I lost because I have a weak chin. I proved I don’t have a weak chin.
“We’re heavyweights. We’re not lightweights. You can go the whole fight and somebody can hit you with one straight right hand and it’s going to hit you in the spot and you’re out. It’s the heavyweight division, come on.”
Arlovski fought through the pain all the way to a decision loss in that Johnson fight. But, it was The Pit Bull’s only defeat in the middle of a run of six wins since 2011, earning him a new UFC contract and a chance to put those years in the wilderness behind him.
The fresh opportunity is one he’s not willing to let slip, especially as retirement can’t be too far off for a 35-year-old man who’s been fighting since 2000.
“When I was outside the UFC I knew I was going to be back in there one day,” states Arvlovski. “I have goals and I need to reach them. I don’t need to prove to anyone or anybody. I’m just going to fight for myself, for my family and for my friends.”
In fact, even the news of being signed to the UFC managed to fill him with brand-new purpose. He says: “When Dana White announced I was back in the UFC, in just 30 or 40 minutes I had over 700 responses from my fans. Of course I’m going to fight for those fans because they are my true fans. They supported me all those years, with my losses, with my victories, and I’m just going to fight for them.”
His ultimate goal, he says, is to regain the heavyweight belt he first held between 2005 and 2006, to really make the most of this second bite of the apple. Even if, by his own admission, he’s currently toward the end of the title shot line.
But, by the same token, with that decision win over Schaub he is far closer than he’s ever been since he left the UFC in ‘08.
Interestingly, during much of that first UFC run, Arlovski’s preferred entrance theme was ‘Onward to Victory’, a violently rousing track by hardcore band Icepick. It included lines such as, ‘Nothing but power and fury within me,’ ‘Never accept defeat,’ and, ‘Honor and triumph is the will that drives me onward.’ All words that now appear more appropriate than ever.
New UFC contract, new career, new energy: onward to victory.
