If you are one of the new breed of MMA fans you may have overlooked Andrei Arlovski, since he has been plying his trade outside of the UFC since 2008; but the die hard fans are very aware of the Pitbull and are eagerly anticipating his return to the world famous octagon.
Since his appearance with the Las Vegas promotion all the way back at UFC 28, Andrei worked his way through the ranks and eventually went on to capture Heavyweight gold; defending the belt on two occasions before eventually relinquishing the title to Tim Sylvia and thus creating one of the biggest rivalries in MMA. 2008 saw Arlovski leave the UFC to compete in the ill fated Affliction Entertainment, fighting in one of the most highly anticipated heavyweight bouts of all time against 'The Last Emporer' Fedor Emelianenko.
The loss to Fedor appeared to signal the end for Arlovski, stalling with a 4 fight losing streak and going win-less throughout his time under the Strikeforce banner. However, in a career that has been defined by defying the odds, and battling through the lowest low's, the Pitbull has been on an absolute tear since then picking up 6 wins, 1 NC and his only loss was suffered at the hands of the highly touted Anthony Johnson. These performance's coupled with his reputation for ending fights in violent fashion have earned the Belarussian another shot in the UFC, taking on former pro footballer and TUF alumni Brendan Schaub at UFC 174.
With 15 years of pro mixed martial arts competition under his belt, you could forgive the pitbull for wanting to call it quits. But it seems the longtime Greg Jackson protege fires' still burning strong. Talking with the guys over at VFD Marketing (Arlovksi's management) they cite a more technical approach to the way he trains as a possible answer to his career resurgence. The support of new main sponsor Oral IV is something which they stated has had a considerable impact on his training, utilising this hydration aid to allow the heavyweight veteran to perform at his best.
New training techniques considered, June 14th we will find out whether there's life in the old dog yet and if he still has a considerable bite to match his bark.
Author: Rob Graham