Andrei Arlovski

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Andrei Arlovski
Андрэй Арлоўскі
Andrei arlovski.jpg
Born (1979-02-04) February 4, 1979 (age 34)
Bobruisk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
Other names The Pit Bull
Nationality Belarusian
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 245.5 lb (111 kg; 17 st 8 lb)
Division Heavyweight
Reach 77 in (196 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Chicago, Illinois
Team Jackson's MMA
Rank International Master of Sports in Sambo
Years active 1999–present (MMA)
Professional boxing record
Total 1
Wins 1
By knockout 1
Losses 0
Draws 0
Mixed martial arts record
Total 30
Wins 19
By knockout 14
By submission 3
By decision 2
Losses 10
By knockout 7
By decision 3
No contests 1
Other information
Website http://www.arlovski.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: September 30, 2011 (2011-09-30)

Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski (Belarusian: Андрэй Валер'евіч Арлоўскі, Belarusian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛj vaˈlʲɛrɛvitʃ arˈlɔwski], born February 4, 1979), nicknamed The Pit Bull, is a Belarusian mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion. Arlovski is also the only man to ever knockout Roy Nelson. In the ring, he is known for his extremely fast hands and knockout power.

Contents

Background [edit]

Arlovski was born in Bobruisk, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Belarus). When he was younger, bullies often picked on him and beat him up. In 1994, when he was 14 years old, he finally had enough and started lifting weights to put on muscle and, he hoped, to help him deal with these bullies. Andrei only took up martial arts at the age of 16 having previously been interested in football. It was an interest in personal fitness and conditioning that led Arlovski to take an interest in combat sports.[1]

Enrolling at the police academy in Minsk, Arlovski combined his interest in a career in law enforcement with his growing martial arts participation by taking up the required police defense course in Sambo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and quickly showed himself to be a highly competent Sambo exponent. In 1999, Andrei won the European Youth Sambo Championship and the World Youth Championship. Not long after, Andrei became the first Master of Sports and then International Master of Sports. He took a silver medal at the Sambo World Cup and another silver medal at the World Sambo Championship.[2]

Arlovski began taking a greater interest in other martial arts, studying kickboxing and developing his striking skills to complement his Sambo-based grappling abilities.

Mixed martial arts career [edit]

At the age of 20, Arlovski began his professional MMA career at the Mix Fight M-1 in St Petersburg, Russia on April 9, 1999. It was a fairly inauspicious start, losing by KO to Viacheslav Datsik. Not deterred, Arlovski returned in 2000 to M-1 Global at the European Championships, taking the heavyweight crown with a submission victory and a KO victory.

Ultimate Fighting Championship [edit]

Arlovski made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 28, defeating Aaron Brink by submission. He was then thrown in against top opposition, losing to future UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez and heavyweight contender Pedro Rizzo. Despite those early defeats, wins over future British Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion Ian Freeman and future IFL Light Heavyweight Champion Vladimir Matyushenko propelled Arlovski back into the UFC elite.

In 2004, a motorcycle accident injury suffered by then UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir led to the creation of an interim heavyweight title. It was decided that the two top heavyweight contenders would meet to declare the interim champion and on February 5, 2005, at UFC 51, Arlovski faced former heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia. In the fight, Arlovski eventually connected with an overhand right and dropped Sylvia. On the ground, Arlovski followed up with an achilles lock that forced Sylvia to tap out at 47 seconds of the first round, making Arlovski the new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion.

Arlovski went on to defend his interim title on June 4, 2005, at UFC 53, against Justin Eilers. Andrei won the bout by TKO in the first round. After the fight, it was revealed that Eilers suffered extensive injuries in this match including a badly broken nose, two broken hands and a complete ACL tear.[3]

In October 2005, Arlovski once again defended his title at UFC 55 against top contender Paul Buentello. Arlovski knocked out Buentello in 15 seconds of the opening round.[4][5] On August 12, 2005, the UFC announced that it now recognized Arlovski as the undisputed heavyweight champion, as Frank Mir had not fully rehabilitated from his motorcycle accident.

In a rematch with Tim Sylvia at UFC 59 on April 15, 2006, Arlovski knocked Sylvia down with a right hand punch early in the first round. Sylvia was able to protect himself and recovered almost immediately. While Arlovski tried to finish Sylvia with a right lead, Sylvia countered with a short right uppercut to the chin, knocking Arlovski to the mat. Sylvia followed up with punches on the ground until referee Herb Dean stopped the match at 2:43 of the first round.

The rubber match between Tim Sylvia and Arlovski took place on July 8, 2006, at UFC 61. In what turned out to be a 5 round battle of attrition, neither fighter was able to KO the other, or even land any truly significant blows. In the end Sylvia won the fight by unanimous decision. It was later discovered that during the fight, Arlovski had been significantly injured by a checked leg kick sometime in the second round which left him unable to throw kicks of his own or make any takedown attempts. When confronted by a reporter about the injury, Arlovski avoided responding directly and would only say "I do not want to talk about my injuries or look for any other excuses."[6] Not too long after it was revealed Sylvia had sustained an injury as he fainted at his hotel room and upon hospital examination, doctors discovered a concussion undetected after the match.[7]

Arlovski made his next appearance on December 30, 2006, at UFC 66 against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Márcio Cruz. After being taken down, he kicked Cruz in the shoulder (which is legal) but it was mistaken for a head kick (which is illegal) by referee Herb Dean. When the referee intervened, he decided, because of Cruz's insistence, to allow both fighters to stay on the ground as opposed to standing them up, as is the general practice. Thereafter, Arlovski struck Cruz with a strong blow to the chin, then continued beating Cruz with hammerfists until the fight was stopped.

Arlovski fought PRIDE veteran and two-time world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 70 and won by unanimous decision. Both fighters kept their distance for the majority of the fight, causing the referee to inform them at the beginning of the third round that he would remove a point from the first fighter to retreat in that round. Although Arlovski won the fight by unanimous decision, many boos could be heard from the crowd. After the fight Arlovski apologized to the fans for not fighting for the full fifteen minutes.

After 11 months of inactivity, Arlovski made his return to the octagon for the final time at UFC 82 and defeated Jake O'Brien by TKO in round two. With this win, Arlovski gave O'Brien his first ever MMA loss.[8] This was Arlovski's final fight on his UFC contract.[9]

Arlovski left the UFC with a record of 10–4, including going 3–2 in title fights.

Affliction Entertainment [edit]

After leaving the UFC, Arlovski signed with the newly created MMA-promotion Affliction and participated in their inaugural event Affliction: Banned on July 19, 2008. He fought and defeated top ranked heavyweight fighter and former IFL heavyweight stand-out Ben Rothwell by KO in the final round of the fight, ending Rothwell's 13 fight win streak and giving him his first defeat in over 3 years.[10]

Originally scheduled to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion and top-ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett in the main event at Affliction's second pay-per-view, Affliction: Day of Reckoning, on October 11, 2008, the event was rescheduled and Arlovski would instead be matched up against the last reigning IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson at EliteXC: Heat on October 4, 2008, in Sunrise, Florida in a co-promotion with EliteXC. Arlovski won the fight via KO in the second round and in the process became the only man to ever finish Nelson in his MMA career.[11]

In January 2009, Arlovski faced the last reigning PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Andrei looked exceptionally well prepared and focused but despite his encouraging early efforts, Arlovski lost the fight via KO in the opening round after jumping in with a very long range knee and being caught with a over-hand right punch.

Strikeforce [edit]

On June 6, 2009, Arlovski fought up and coming heavyweight Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Arlovski lost the fight via TKO in the opening round.[12] As a result, Arlovski has begun training with acclaimed MMA coach Greg Jackson in October 2009.[13] Arlovski was a featured attendee at Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers where he was mobbed with a crowd of local Chicago fans. Arlovski was signed to Strikeforce and fought former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva on May 15, 2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery.[14] after 3 rounds of hard hitting punches from both and no one giving in to each, Andrei Arlovski lost by unanimous decision.

Andrei Arlovski was defeated by Sergei Kharitonov via KO on February 12, 2011, as part of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament. It was his fourth straight loss, three of which were by way of KO. On February 17, 2011, Andrei Arlovski posted a video on his website which he spoke for over an hour, repeatedly saying that he would absolutely not retire and end his career this way. Andrei Arlovski indicated there was a situation with his trainers recommended that he retire; however, Greg Jackson was against his retirement. Andrei dedicated himself to training exclusively with Greg Jackson in New Mexico to refocus on his MMA career and make the necessary changes to get back on track.

ProElite [edit]

After several months of grueling training schedule in New Mexico with Greg Jackson and the likes of Jon Jones, Shane Carwin and Travis Browne, Arlovski headlined ProElite 1 on August 27 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii against heavyweight Ray Lopez. Arlovski won by TKO in the third round after dominating Lopez throughout the fight.

Arlovski faced off against veteran of over 300 fights Travis Fulton at ProElite 2 in November, serving as the co-main event.[15] Arlovski won the fight via a head kick KO in the final second of the third round. It was a knockout which caused Fulton, who has never been knocked out, to regain consciousness about 5 minutes after the fight was stopped. Fulton later admitted to Arlovski in the locker room that he has never been hit that hard in all of his 300 bouts.[16]

ONE Fighting Championship [edit]

In mid-July 2012, it was announced that Andrei Arlovski had signed with the Asia-based promotion ONE Fighting Championship.[17] Originally Andrei Arlvoski was scheduled to fight Soa Palelei but Soa Palelei was later replaced with Tim Sylvia. The promotion quickly announced that Arlovski would face Tim Sylvia in his debut, marking the fourth time the two fighters had faced each other. Arlovski and Sylvia faced off at ONE Fighting Championship: Pride of a Nation on August 31, 2012 in Manila. The fight between Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia ended in a no-contest due to an illegal soccer kick by Andrei Arlovski. According to ONE FC rules, soccer kicks are legal only if the referee clears the fighter to do so after determining the grounded fighter can still intelligently defend himself. Arlovski received no such clearance, the kick was deemed illegal. Four days later One FC eliminated this restriction. This rule change, if made earlier, would have resulted in Arlovki the winner by TKO.

Independent Promotions [edit]

Arlovski headlined the debut event from the World Series of Fighting against fellow Strikeforce veteran Devin Cole on November 3, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event aired live on NBC Sports.[18] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Arlovski faced Bellator veteran Mike Hayes at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 9 on December 16, 2012 in Moscow, Russia.[19] He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Arlovski was also scheduled to fight 2 time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion and veteran of over 60 fights Jeff Monson in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 2, 2013 but the event was postponed.[20]

Arlovski fought Anthony Johnson in the main event at World Series of Fighting 2 on March 23, 2013.[21] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Controversy arose after the fight when it was revealed that multiple rounds exceeded the five minute time limit. The punch believed to have broken Arlovski's jaw was landed after when time should have expired. [22]

Movie career [edit]

Arlovski first movie debut was in the 8 of Diamonds in 2006. He starred in Universal Soldier: Regeneration, along with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. In the movie, he plays a "NGU", a new generation UniSol in the main "bad guy" role. The movie was released directly to video on February 2, 2010, in the United States.[23] Arlovski also played a part in the next Universal Soldier movie — Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, released in theaters on November 30 2012 and on demand October 25 2012.

Arlovski appeared on Mayhem Miller's MTV show Bully Beatdown in which he beat up a bully, earning the bully's victims $10,000.

"Maximus Arlovski" Andrei's Pit Bull [edit]

Andrei's best friend, training camp companion and beloved pet pit bull has gained a very big following from Arlovski fans as being cute and exceptionally smart, as demonstrated by various tricks they do in picture and on video together.

Championships and Accomplishments [edit]

Mixed Martial Arts [edit]

Sambo [edit]

  • European Youth Sambo
    • European Youth Sambo Champion
  • World Cup
    • 2nd place in the World Cup in Sambo
  • World Sambo Championship
    • 2nd place at the World Sambo Championship

Mixed martial arts record [edit]

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 19–10 (1) Anthony Johnson Decision (unanimous) World Series of Fighting 2 02013-03-23March 23, 2013 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 19–9 (1) Mike Hayes Decision (unanimous) Fight Night 9 02012-12-16December 16, 2012 3 5:00 Moscow, Russia
Win 18–9 (1) Devin Cole TKO (punches) World Series of Fighting 1 02012-11-03November 3, 2012 1 2:37 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
NC 17–9 (1) Tim Sylvia NC (illegal soccer kicks) ONE FC 5 02012-08-31August 31, 2012 2 4:46 Manila, Philippines
Win 17–9 Travis Fulton KO (head kick) ProElite II 02011-11-05November 5, 2011 3 4:59 Moline, Illinois, United States
Win 16–9 Ray Lopez TKO (punches) ProElite I 02011-08-27August 27, 2011 3 2:43 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Loss 15–9 Sergei Kharitonov KO (punches) Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva 02011-02-12February 12, 2011 1 2:49 East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States 2011 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal.
Loss 15–8 Antonio Silva Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery 02010-05-15May 15, 2010 3 5:00 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Loss 15–7 Brett Rogers TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields 02009-06-06June 6, 2009 1 0:22 St. Louis, Missouri, United States Strikeforce Debut.
Loss 15–6 Fedor Emelianenko KO (punch) Affliction: Day of Reckoning 02009-01-24January 24, 2009 1 3:14 Anaheim, California, United States
Win 15–5 Roy Nelson KO (punch) EliteXC: Heat 02008-10-04October 4, 2008 2 1:46 Sunrise, Florida, United States
Win 14–5 Ben Rothwell KO (punches) Affliction: Banned 02008-07-19July 19, 2008 3 1:13 Anaheim, California, United States
Win 13–5 Jake O'Brien TKO (punches) UFC 82 02008-03-01March 1, 2008 2 4:17 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win 12–5 Fabricio Werdum Decision (unanimous) UFC 70 02007-04-21April 21, 2007 3 5:00 Manchester, United Kingdom
Win 11–5 Márcio Cruz TKO (punches) UFC 66 02006-12-30December 30, 2006 1 3:15 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 10–5 Tim Sylvia Decision (unanimous) UFC 61 02006-07-08July 8, 2006 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Loss 10–4 Tim Sylvia TKO (punches) UFC 59 02006-04-15April 15, 2006 1 2:43 Anaheim, California, United States Lost the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Win 10–3 Paul Buentello KO (punch) UFC 55 02005-10-07October 7, 2005 1 0:15 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Defended the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Win 9–3 Justin Eilers TKO (punches) UFC 53 02005-06-04June 4, 2005 1 4:10 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Defended the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship; Later promoted to UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Win 8–3 Tim Sylvia Submission (achilles lock) UFC 51 02005-02-05February 5, 2005 1 0:47 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Won the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Win 7–3 Wesley Correira TKO (punches) UFC 47 02004-04-02April 2, 2004 2 1:15 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–3 Vladimir Matyushenko KO (punch) UFC 44 02003-09-26September 26, 2003 1 2:10 Paradise, Nevada, United States
Win 5–3 Ian Freeman TKO (punches) UFC 40 02002-11-22November 22, 2002 1 1:25 Paradise, Nevada, United States
Loss 4–3 Pedro Rizzo KO (punches) UFC 36 02002-03-22March 22, 2002 3 1:45 Paradise, Nevada, United States
Loss 4–2 Ricco Rodriguez TKO (punches) UFC 32 02001-06-29June 29, 2001 3 1:23 East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Win 4–1 Aaron Brink Submission (armbar) UFC 28 02000-11-11November 11, 2000 1 0:55 East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States UFC Debut.
Win 3–1 John Dixson KO (punches) Super Fight 02000-05-13May 13, 2000 1 0:13 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win 2–1 Roman Zentsov TKO (punches) M-1 MFC 02000-04-09April 9, 2000 1 1:18 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win 1–1 Michael Tielrooy Submission (guillotine choke) M-1 MFC 02000-04-09April 9, 2000 1 1:25 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Loss 0–1 Viacheslav Datsik KO (punch) M-1 MFC 01999-04-09April 9, 1999 1 6:05 Saint Petersburg, Russia

References [edit]

  1. ^ Goodlad (October 2005), Terry (October 2005). "Beware of the Glassjaw". Flex Magazine on Findarticles.com. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  2. ^ "Andre Arlovski Profile - No longer available". UFC.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  3. ^ Gross, Josh (June 6, 2005). "UFC 53 Injury Update: Eilers and Tanner". Sherdog.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2009.  More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  4. ^ Dave Doyle. "UFC 55: Cop to it". Yahoo!. 
  5. ^ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Andrei-Arlovski-270
  6. ^ Furci, Mike (July 17, 2006). "Andrei Arlovski post-fight interview". Bullz-eye.com. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  7. ^ Sherdog.com. "Beatdown: UFC Champ Sylvia Talks Title Defense". Sherdog.com. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  8. ^ Arlovski downs O'Brien on undercard of UFC 82: Pride of a Champion - Yahoo! Canada News[dead link]
  9. ^ Caplan, Sam (January 18, 2008). "Report: Andrei Arlovski to fight at UFC 82". FiveOuncesofPain.com. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  10. ^ "Affliction Banned results & live play-by-play". MMAWeekly.com. July 19, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  11. ^ Martin, Damon. "Andrei Arlovski vs Roy Nelson at Elite XC on CBS". MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved January 24, 2009. 
  12. ^ Savage, Greg (June 7, 2009). "Shields Submits Lawler; Rogers Stuns Arlovski". Sherdog.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2009. 
  13. ^ Loretta Hunt. "Arlovski to Train with Jackson's Academy". Sherdog. 
  14. ^ "Overeem vs. Rogers, Arlovski vs. "Bigfoot" official for May 15 Strikeforce event in St. Louis". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19. 
  15. ^ http://mmajunkie.com/news/25704/hdnet-to-air-proelite-2-live-on-nov-5.mma
  16. ^ http://www.mmamania.com/2012/7/20/3169143/andrei-arlovski-on-sparring-with-manny-pacquiao-signing-with-golden
  17. ^ "Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlvoski signs on for ONE FC: 'Pride of a Nation' in Manila". MMAmania.com. July 13, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012. 
  18. ^ "Andrei Arlovski-Devin Cole Booked for Inaugural World Series of Fighting Headliner in Las Vegas". Sherdog.com. September 25, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2012. 
  19. ^ "Former UFC Champ Andrei Arlovski Set To Meet Mike ‘300’ Hayes On Dec. 16 In Moscow". Sherdog.com. November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012. 
  20. ^ http://www.imperiomma.com/royal-fc-debuts-in-february-with-cro-cop-vs-rizzo/
  21. ^ "World Series of Fighting inks deal with NBC Sports Network, Arlovski vs. Johnson". mmajunkie.com. February 4, 2013. 
  22. ^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/andrei-arlovski-camp-says-timing-error-jersey-caused-144726034--mma.html
  23. ^ Universal Soldier: Regeneration at the Internet Movie Database

External links [edit]

New title 1st UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion
February 5, 2005 – August 12, 2005		 Vacant
Title next held by
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Vacant
Title last held by
Frank Mir		 11th UFC Heavyweight Champion
August 12, 2005 – April 15, 2006		 Succeeded by
Tim Sylvia
Authority control

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