Andrei Arlovski Talks Title Shot

Andrei Arlovski Talks Title Shot

When a fight between former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and PRIDE veteran Fabricio Werdum was added to last month’s UFC 70 card, we figured the victor could emerge with a future title shot.

However, as the heavyweight battle failed to live up to our grand expectations, talk of that possible title shot faded. Arlovski’s solid, smart — and perhaps safe — unanimous-decision win was dominant, but it was far from flashy. Couple that far-from-memorable performance with Gabriel Gonzaga’s stunning upset of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Arlovski’s win barely registered as a blip in the aftermath of UFC 70.

No worries, says the Belarusian.

Even though UFC president Dana White himself said a UFC 70 win could earn Arlovski a title shot later in the year, he trusts whatever decisions the UFC brass makes.

“If the UFC wants to give me the title fight, that’s OK,” Arlovski says it is up to them, but of course I want to be champion again.”

First, though, Arlovski will have to wait his turn. With his shocking KO victory at UFC 70, Gonzaga earned a spot in the main event at UFC 74, where he faces current champ Randy Couture. The 43-year-old UFC Hall of Famer will make his first title defense since defeating Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March. That title fight is expected to take place Aug. 25.

In the mean time, Arlovski is simply waiting for a phone call from the UFC. He expects to fight again this fall, and if victorious, it could mean a championship date with the winner of Couture vs. Gonzaga.

“I’ll wait for the UFC to give me a fight,” Arlovski said. “I just had a couple bruises [from UFC 70]. I’ll take off two or three weeks and then go back to training.”

However, are we to expect the same type of performance we saw at UFC 70? Will his next fight rely on a largely defense-oriented game plan? And whatever happened to the knockout machine that dominated the UFC’s heavyweight division from 2002-‘05?

He’s still there, Arlovski says. But when it comes to an opponent as talented as Werdum, you have to worry first about winning the fight — not the manner in which you’ll do it.

“I did everything the trainers told me to,” Arlovski says of his UFC 70 win. “I followed the game plan and won the fight. I wanted to win the fight by putting [Werdum] in the position where he didn’t want to be. We expected him to take the fight to the ground. I didn’t allow that, and at the same time, created more damage to my opponent and won the decision.
“Sorry. No knockout this time.”

just go in there and let your hands go! i think 8 out of 10 times....u will win!

I really like Arlovski he can be the champ if he does what you say!

yeah...its like doughboy sylvia took something out of him. the first fight that silvia won ..it could have went either way. the third one...they looked like rock'em sock'em robots. rather boring! AA should have came out like he did in the first 2. i think he would have taken tim. i guess thats the past....but u hate 2 see a great fighter get a mental block like that

no doubt! i know tim took one hell of a punch in the second fight!

I like AA but the mental block is hard to overcome, especially losing to a BONER LIKE SYLVIA!!!! Guaranteed Sylvia will never get a sponsor from the Rubber Depot!!!

it only take a couple of knockouts to get you back into the swing of things!

i just hope he swings 4 the fence! he has some tough fights ahead of him! u all think he will fight vera or crocop anytime soon?

I was sure that Heath Herring was gonna be put in against Tim Sylvia or Andre Arlovski, it looks like Herring has put on an extra 20lbs that have slowed him down...maybe the UFC crew notice the same thing??