Andrei Arlovski
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Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski (born February 4, 1979) is a Belarusian professional mixed martial artist training out of Team Pitbull in Chicago, Illinois.
He stands 6 ft. 4 in. (193 cm) tall and fights in the heavyweight division at approximately 240 lbs..
Arlovski is a former UFC heavyweight champion and currently competes for Affliction and Strikeforce.
M-1 Mix-Fight
A native Minsk, Belarus, Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski made his professional MMA debut on April 9, 1999, losing to Viacheslav Datsik. Undaunted Arlovski returned for next year's M-1 MFC competition and won both of his matches, first defeating Michael Tielrooy with a Guillotine Choke, and then knocking out Roman Zentsov. Exactly one year after his first loss, Andrei had won his first title in Mixed Martial Arts, the M-1 Mix-Fight European Heavyweight Championship.
Early UFC Career
On November, 17, 2000, Arlovski won his first UFC match, dispatching Aaron Brink with an Armbar. In his next Octagon appearance "The Pit Bull" faced Ricco Rodriguez, losing after suffering repeated strikes. After nearly nine months off, Arlovski returned at UFC 36 only to lose again, being knocked out by Pedro Rizzo.
Mounting a comeback, Andrei put together a string of KO victories, beating the likes of Ian Freeman, Vladimir Matyushenko and Wesley "Cabbage" Correira. Arlovski's dominant performances lead to his first UFC title shot, a battle with Tim Sylvia.
Due to injuries suffered by then-current Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, the UFC belt was vacant. So, on Feburary, 5, 2005 when Andrei Arlovski stepped into the cage with Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia, it was for the UFC interim Heavyweight Championship. In a surprisingly quick 0:47 of the very first round, Arlovski submitted Sylvia with an Achilles Press.
"The Pit Bull" Would go on to successfully defend the title on two occasions, first against Paul Buentello, and then facing Justin Eilers. Both contests resulted in first round knockout wins for Arlovski. Meanwhile, Tim Sylvia had won three more fights in the UFC and was granted a rematch. This time it was Arlovski who went down in the first round, knocked out by the power of Sylvia. A third match with Sylvia followed, ending with Andrei losing a unanimous decision.
UFC Departure And Affliction
Rebounding after his attempt to regain the Heavyweight title Arlovski out-gunned Marcio Cruz overwhelming him with strikes. In his next outing "The Pit Bull" fought top ten ranked Fabricio Werdum, winning a decision. Just as it seemed Andrei might make another run at the belt, his contract negotiation with the UFC fell apart. With one fight left on his contract Arlovski was signed to a match with Jake O'Brien. "The Pit Bull" emerged victorious, after scoring a TKO in the second frame.
Arlovski's management team could not reach an agreement with the UFC negotiators, and Andrei left the promotion, later signign with MMA upstart Affliction. Arlovski was successful in his Affliction debut, unleashing a barrage of strikes and securing a TKO win against former IFL Heavyweight Champion Ben Rothwell.
Following the Rothwell victory, Arlovski was said to headline Affliction's second event, Affliction: Day of Reckoning in October, 2008 against Josh Barnett. However, once the event was postponed due to alleged poor ticket sales, Arlovski instead took a fight on two weeks notice against Roy Nelson on EliteXC's third CBS card, EliteXC: Heat. Arlovski was taken down by Nelson in the first round and dominated positionally. The second round appeared to be much of the same until a bogus stand up saw Arlovski rock and then drop Nelson for the victory.
The win made it five straight, and earned Arlovski the right to face Fedor Emelianenko at the rescheduled Affliction: Day of Reckoning on January 24, 2009. Arlovski scored with clean strikes early which seemed to have Fedor on the back foot. An ill-advised flying knee from Arlovski proved his downfall however, as Fedor knocked him cold mid-flight with an overhand right, snatching the victory.
Following the disappointing loss, Arlovski looked to try his hand in the boxing ring in June, however those ideas were put on a halt when he signed to fight Brett Rogers at a June Strikeforce event, Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Andrei Arlovski lost the fight by TKO in the very first round.
Mixed Martial Arts Record
| 22 matches | 15 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 6 |
| By submission | 3 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Draws | 0 | |
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