Arlovski: “I Want to be Champion Again”
Mike Sloan Apr 20, 2007
Charles Dickens once wrote in his epic novel A Tale of Two
Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
That brilliant and synoptic glimpse at a recent past couldn't
better describe the latest few chapters in Andrei Arlovski (Pictures)'s career.
Arlovski had toiled in the lower bowels of the UFC's heavyweight division a few years before fulfilling his dream of becoming the organization's heavyweight champion.
For the Belarusian knockout artist, those were the best of
times.
Arlovski dropped Tim Sylvia (Pictures) with a monstrous right hand and eventually secured an Achilles lock, forcing the larger "Maine-iac" to tap. The win made Arlovski champion and two highlight reel knockout title defenses ensued. At that point, it seemed as though the sky was the limit for Arlovski because he was mowing down his opposition in spectacular fashion.
Arlovski tried to rebound from the first-round knockout loss by tangling with Sylvia in an immediate rubber-match, but Sylvia bested him again, this time in a contest which would be best forgotten by everybody involved in mixed martial arts, as it was a tedious and dull five-round feeling out process.
A surprising number of observers and so-called experts simply took the easy route and wrote Arlovski off more or less as a flash in the pan, a talented fighter who was lucky to win a title but just not good enough to become an all-time great.
Sure he sports dazzling speed and concussive power in both fists but, some experts claimed, he just didn't have it anymore, that rare spark and killer mentality. Some fans even jumped off the Pitbull Bandwagon.
"I don't know if I agree [about the number of fans who left] but my real fans are still with me for sure," Arlovski said before he left Chicago for the UK and a date with Brazilian Fabricio Werdum (Pictures). "I thank them for continued support and I, too, was not happy with my performances at UFC 59 and UFC 61. But I learned a lot. My last fight with Sylvia did not go as planned. I am training hard so I can be the best and my hard work will pay off for everyone."
Arlovski knew he had to bounce back one way or another. He climbed into the Octagon on December 30, 2006 and locked horns with the durable Marcio Cruz (Pictures), a man who had pummeled former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir (Pictures) but was coming off a decision loss to eventual title challenger Jeff Monson (Pictures).
He had to win and win big, a circumstance the Belarusian embraced openly. Deep inside he must have known that the majority of the viewers had him stuffed under the scrutinizing lens of that proverbial microscope, looking for any mistake or loss of fistic appetite to pounce on. Arlovski had to score the sort of triumph that he was known for.
"I really wanted to win," he said matter-of-factly. "Of course I prefer the knockout but a win is a win. I trained hard and was very focused so there was less pressure. I am glad for the knockout."
Now that the monkey is off of his back and things have returned to normal for the former champion, his focus on his next challenge, the vastly overlooked and underrated Werdum. The jiu-jitsu expert poses enough of a threat to score the win, and Arlovski knows he can't afford to look beyond Werdum, not with his skill set.
"He is a tough guy," Arlovski said of Werdum, whom Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) trains with for his submission grappling. "He has very good MMA jiu-jitsu and I trained hard in my jiu-jitsu, boxing and wrestling to prepare. The UFC called me and asked if I wanted to fight in April and against Werdum. I told them no problem."
The burning question everybody is ready to ask is whether or not this fight is some sort of title eliminator. With the heavyweight spectrum slammed on its ears thanks to the miraculous Randy Couture (Pictures) seizing the belt from Sylvia, there is an entirely new breath of excitement in the division.
"I am very happy for Randy and his win," Arlovski said. "Randy is very experienced and has a lot of good wrestling and boxing skills. I take every fight one at a time and the UFC give me a title shot when they are ready. Right now I am a contender and can wait in the line. I always take it one fight at a time. Of course I want to be champion again."
Arlovski could wind up being a champion, or least fight for a championship, one way or another now that Zuffa has bought PRIDE. If the UFC heavyweight title is tied up with various contenders and Zuffa doesn't have immediate plans for Arlovski, they could possibly slip him into the PRIDE heavyweight title mix.
For Arlovski, that is nothing but good news, as it opens up many more doors of opportunities to fight elite competition. "I think that it is great," he said about Zuffa's purchase of PRIDE. "I only want to fight the best fighters and if they are from PRIDE, I will fight them when the UFC says to. It is great for the fans, too, because there are fighters they want to see in UFC."
With so many great heavyweights under one umbrella now, the possibilities are endless. Just imagine Arlovski set to go toe-to-toe with anybody from Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) to Mirko Filipovic (Pictures), from Couture to Josh Barnett (Pictures) or from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) to even Sylvia again.
Arlovski tries to shrug the question off as to whom he truly seeks to duke it out with, but the answer is obvious to spot, especially since he says it bluntly.
"Of course I want to fight Sylvia again at some point," he muttered. "But it doesn't matter. The UFC does good job picking and it is really up to them. I will fight whoever they put in front of me."
Provided that Arlovski is victorious against the dangerous Werdum, who is coming off a sensational submission of Aleksander Emelianenko (Pictures), only good things will come his way inside the Octagon.
Arlovski knows his place among the current heavyweight spectrum and embraces everything about his career with dedication and passion. He also heeds the importance of a true fan base and realizes that he really fights for them as much as he does for himself.
Just 28, the swift moving Arlovski would like to believe the "best of times" are in his future, not memories of the past. Saturday night will go a long way in defining which is more likely.
Arlovski had toiled in the lower bowels of the UFC's heavyweight division a few years before fulfilling his dream of becoming the organization's heavyweight champion.
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Arlovski dropped Tim Sylvia (Pictures) with a monstrous right hand and eventually secured an Achilles lock, forcing the larger "Maine-iac" to tap. The win made Arlovski champion and two highlight reel knockout title defenses ensued. At that point, it seemed as though the sky was the limit for Arlovski because he was mowing down his opposition in spectacular fashion.
However, the good times for "The Pitbull" would be short-lived. One
sneaky right hand from Sylvia in their rematch was all it took for
Arlovski's joy to transform into gloom.
Arlovski tried to rebound from the first-round knockout loss by tangling with Sylvia in an immediate rubber-match, but Sylvia bested him again, this time in a contest which would be best forgotten by everybody involved in mixed martial arts, as it was a tedious and dull five-round feeling out process.
A surprising number of observers and so-called experts simply took the easy route and wrote Arlovski off more or less as a flash in the pan, a talented fighter who was lucky to win a title but just not good enough to become an all-time great.
Sure he sports dazzling speed and concussive power in both fists but, some experts claimed, he just didn't have it anymore, that rare spark and killer mentality. Some fans even jumped off the Pitbull Bandwagon.
"I don't know if I agree [about the number of fans who left] but my real fans are still with me for sure," Arlovski said before he left Chicago for the UK and a date with Brazilian Fabricio Werdum (Pictures). "I thank them for continued support and I, too, was not happy with my performances at UFC 59 and UFC 61. But I learned a lot. My last fight with Sylvia did not go as planned. I am training hard so I can be the best and my hard work will pay off for everyone."
Arlovski knew he had to bounce back one way or another. He climbed into the Octagon on December 30, 2006 and locked horns with the durable Marcio Cruz (Pictures), a man who had pummeled former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir (Pictures) but was coming off a decision loss to eventual title challenger Jeff Monson (Pictures).
He had to win and win big, a circumstance the Belarusian embraced openly. Deep inside he must have known that the majority of the viewers had him stuffed under the scrutinizing lens of that proverbial microscope, looking for any mistake or loss of fistic appetite to pounce on. Arlovski had to score the sort of triumph that he was known for.
"I really wanted to win," he said matter-of-factly. "Of course I prefer the knockout but a win is a win. I trained hard and was very focused so there was less pressure. I am glad for the knockout."
Now that the monkey is off of his back and things have returned to normal for the former champion, his focus on his next challenge, the vastly overlooked and underrated Werdum. The jiu-jitsu expert poses enough of a threat to score the win, and Arlovski knows he can't afford to look beyond Werdum, not with his skill set.
"He is a tough guy," Arlovski said of Werdum, whom Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) trains with for his submission grappling. "He has very good MMA jiu-jitsu and I trained hard in my jiu-jitsu, boxing and wrestling to prepare. The UFC called me and asked if I wanted to fight in April and against Werdum. I told them no problem."
The burning question everybody is ready to ask is whether or not this fight is some sort of title eliminator. With the heavyweight spectrum slammed on its ears thanks to the miraculous Randy Couture (Pictures) seizing the belt from Sylvia, there is an entirely new breath of excitement in the division.
"I am very happy for Randy and his win," Arlovski said. "Randy is very experienced and has a lot of good wrestling and boxing skills. I take every fight one at a time and the UFC give me a title shot when they are ready. Right now I am a contender and can wait in the line. I always take it one fight at a time. Of course I want to be champion again."
Arlovski could wind up being a champion, or least fight for a championship, one way or another now that Zuffa has bought PRIDE. If the UFC heavyweight title is tied up with various contenders and Zuffa doesn't have immediate plans for Arlovski, they could possibly slip him into the PRIDE heavyweight title mix.
For Arlovski, that is nothing but good news, as it opens up many more doors of opportunities to fight elite competition. "I think that it is great," he said about Zuffa's purchase of PRIDE. "I only want to fight the best fighters and if they are from PRIDE, I will fight them when the UFC says to. It is great for the fans, too, because there are fighters they want to see in UFC."
With so many great heavyweights under one umbrella now, the possibilities are endless. Just imagine Arlovski set to go toe-to-toe with anybody from Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) to Mirko Filipovic (Pictures), from Couture to Josh Barnett (Pictures) or from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) to even Sylvia again.
Arlovski tries to shrug the question off as to whom he truly seeks to duke it out with, but the answer is obvious to spot, especially since he says it bluntly.
"Of course I want to fight Sylvia again at some point," he muttered. "But it doesn't matter. The UFC does good job picking and it is really up to them. I will fight whoever they put in front of me."
Provided that Arlovski is victorious against the dangerous Werdum, who is coming off a sensational submission of Aleksander Emelianenko (Pictures), only good things will come his way inside the Octagon.
Arlovski knows his place among the current heavyweight spectrum and embraces everything about his career with dedication and passion. He also heeds the importance of a true fan base and realizes that he really fights for them as much as he does for himself.
Just 28, the swift moving Arlovski would like to believe the "best of times" are in his future, not memories of the past. Saturday night will go a long way in defining which is more likely.
