Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski jokes on Fedor Emelianenko’s fight in Rizin FF, and offers to share his fight purse with anyone who helps him get a rematch with Fedor.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (25-11-1) appeared in a video-interview for Russian website BloodandSweat.ru, where he opened up on many things in his natural outspoken manner. This is the first part of his interview.
Talking about his former Strikeforce opponent Sergei Kharitonov, who recently signed with Bellator, Arlovski was sure that Kharitonov is one step from becoming Bellator’s new heavyweight champion.
“I’d say there’s nobody in Bellator’s heavyweight division right now, so I think Kharitonov will become a champion there,” said Andrei. “There’s literally nobody [competitive] in their heavyweight roster”.
The rematch with Fedor Emelianenko is something that Andrei wants badly. He is ready to ask the UFC about letting him fight outside the promotion, only if Fedor is willing to fight him. Still, Andrei is very skeptical about Fedor’s first fight with Jaideep Singh at Rizin FF.
“About Fedor’s fight in Rizin FF – he fought some Indian movies actor!” said Arlovski. “If he only came to the UFC and competed with everyone else around. I heard he wanted to have the immediate title fight with Werdum. I wish he’d made 1-2 fights here [before having the title shot], but no. You see, Fedor is still a national hero in Russia. Therefore everything I say here will be perceived negatively. So Andrei Arlovski won’t become more popular in Russia after these words”.
When he was asked what would happen if Fedor offered him a rematch, Andrei was positively certain. He even promised to share 10% of his fight purse with anyone who would help to arrange his rematch with Emelianenko.
“Sure! If you can do that, I’ll pay you 10% if this fight happens,” assured Andrei. “We can discuss any conditions, but the only crucial points [of negotiation] for me are: accommodation, food and fly-over for me and my team. I think I can even persuade the UFC to let me fight outside the organization once.”