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Andrei Arlovski Looking to Continue Resurgence at UFC 187

There are few fighters in the heavyweight ranks who have a more “been there, done that” mentality than Andrei Arlovski.
The Belarusian striker is a two-time former heavyweight champion under the UFC banner and has maintained his status as one of the el…

There are few fighters in the heavyweight ranks who have a more “been there, done that” mentality than Andrei Arlovski.

The Belarusian striker is a two-time former heavyweight champion under the UFC banner and has maintained his status as one of the elite-level heavyweight fighters across the globe for more than a decade. Yet, Arlovksi in his latest form appears to be aiming to get his hands back on championship gold, and that’s exactly what he’s looking to accomplish on the road ahead.

The Pit Bull has won back-to-back showings since returning to the UFC in 2014, and has run his current winning streak to four straight victories going back to March of 2013. This consistency is concrete proof that the former fleet-footed knockout artist has rediscovered his groove and is firing on all cylinders inside the Octagon.

“I have really been moving well in my recent fights and that’s what I’m going to try to do in my next fight as well,” Arlovski told Bleacher Report. “I am at my best when I use my footwork with my striking and I believe going back to having more movement inside the cage has been a big part of my recent success. We worked it a lot for this camp and I’m ready to go.

His surging confidence will be put to the test on Saturday night when he faces former training partner and fellow potential title hopeful Travis Browne at UFC 187. Where Arlovski is chasing his own redemption under the UFC banner, Hapa is after a similar goal as well. The rangy Hawaiian striker has twice been poised to break through into title contention, but has been turned back sharply in both of those outings.

The heavyweight tilt between Arlovski and Browne will see one man’s dreams dashed for the foreseeable future, while it will keep the other man’s fire raging hot. Arlovski is confident he will be the one who goes on while his opponent is sent to the back of the line in the heavyweight ranks. While that particular scenario could be rough waters on the relationship of the former training partners, Arlovski is quick to cite championship ambitions and the fight business in general leaves little room for friendships.

“I am feeling great,” Arlovski said. “My training has gone very well and I had an incredible camp to prepare me for this fight. I’m ready to face Travis Browne on Saturday and I’m excited for the fight.

“This wasn’t my first pick on who I wanted to fight, but at the end of the day it’s business and nothing personal. It is my goal to be champion again one day and I would most likely have to face Travis anyway. We will see what will happen on May 23 and after, but this is just business for me. He accepted the fight as well and I agreed after him. Now we are going to fight and we’ll see what happens.

“I am very happy to be back fighting in the UFC,” he added. “It is the best organization in the world and it is where all the best fighters in the world are. This is where I belong and it is the reason the UFC brought me back. I’m very appreciative to be back and I’m going to/ make the most of my second chance. I’m in my prime so I think my best is still yet to come.”

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

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UFC 187: Could the Winner of Browne vs. Arlovski Be Poised for a Title Shot?

Before Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson do battle for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 187, and before Vitor Belfort gets his long-awaited shot at Chris Weidman’s UFC middleweight title, two top-ranked heavyweights will square off in a fi…

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski will look to continue his unexpected resurgence when he faces Travis “Hapa” Browne on the UFC 187 main card. Given the current landscape in the UFC heavyweight division, the winner could be poised for a title shot.

Cain Velasquez, the current Baddest Man on the Planet, has been sidelined with a series of injuries for the better part of two years and will finally return to action at UFC 188 next month in Mexico City. He’s been gone for so long that Fabricio Werdum is also the heavyweight champion, albeit an interim champion.

Stipe Miocic made his case for the next title shot with his thorough beatdown of Mark Hunt in Australia a few weeks ago, decimating Hunt for nearly five rounds before finishing him via TKO in the fifth frame. The output and cardio of Miocic might only be rivaled at heavyweight by the champ himself.

Even though Miocic dropped a narrow decision to Junior dos Santos prior to that, the fight was very close, and many thought he should have taken the decision.

Miocic has looked impressive throughout his nine fights in the UFC thus far and might be the guy the UFC goes with against the winner of Velasquez vs. Werdum. Browne and Arlovski have the opportunity on Saturday to stake their claim to the title shot, and an emphatic win for either guy could send them to the front of the line.

For Arlovski, it would be a second chance at glory. He’s been to the mountain top, and 10 years ago, he was the best heavyweight alive. Competing for the title a decade after holding it would be a pretty remarkable accomplishment.

Browne has been in this position before. He has made very few missteps in his MMA career and rebounded as good as one could have after his unanimous-decision loss to Werdum. He dominated Brendan Schaub and put him away in under a round, and a win over his former teammate should certainly put him in line for another title eliminator.

While Velasquez has been out, pretty much all of the other heavyweights at the top of the division have been at least somewhat derailed by a loss. Browne has his loss to Werdum, Josh Barnett lost to Browne, Alistair Overeem lost to Ben Rothwell and dos Santos hasn’t appeared to ever really recover from the third fight against Velasquez.

There isn’t a long line for the title, and there aren’t a lot of people ahead of Browne and Arlovski at the moment. With Velasquez vs. Werdum finally (hopefully) happening, the UFC needs to establish who will fight for the title next. Saturday night is when Brown and Arlovski get the opportunity to make their case.

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UFC Fight Night 65 Results: 5 Fights for Stipe Miocic

Stipe Miocic has slowly emerged as a true contender within the UFC’s heavyweight division. His vicious stoppage of Mark Hunt during UFC Fight Night 65 on Saturday is perhaps his most important victory since joining the Zuffa brand.
With this win, Mioci…

With this win, Miocic may be on the short list of men who will challenge winner of the Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum bout at June’s UFC 188 in Mexico.

With that in mind, these bout suggestions will help keep Miocic ranked in the top five of the division.

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UFC Fight Night 65 Results: 3 Fights for Mark Hunt to Take Next

One should probably be careful about declaring that Mark Hunt’s best days are behind him, but perhaps it’s finally true. His one-sided loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC Fight Night 65 on Saturday was sobering for those of us still high on the Hunto-laced Koo…

Most expected Miocic to win, of course. What we didn’t expect was for him to bully and batter his foe like a high school freshman for 23 minutes. The only things the 32-year-old didn’t do were give Hunt a wedgie and then stuff him in a locker.

But in all fairness, Miocic is arguably second only to Cain Velasquez in terms nightmarish matchups for the Super Samoan. The combination of crisp striking and potent wrestling is exhausting to deal with at the best of times, but especially when you’re a heavyweight suffering the effects of a rough weight cut.

It’s easy to forget that Hunt actually looked terrific against Fabricio Werdum in his previous fight in November. Prior to getting knocked out, he was on course to capture the interim UFC heavyweight title. So, as silly as this sounds in light of his age, perhaps we should give the 41-year-old Hunt the benefit of the doubt for this one.

Without further delay, let’s take a look at which fighters might be in Hunt’s immediate future.

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UFC 187: The Greatest UFC Card In the Past Few Years (And Possibly Ever)

Look at it. It’s glorious, isn’t it? In a UFC landscape currently being dominated by complaints of oversaturation, dwindling fan interest and rampant PED use, along comes a card to finally set us straight, or at least distract us from said oversaturation and rampant PED use for a little while.

Having already announced a complete overhaul to its drug testing program last night, the UFC dropped another bombshell later in the evening by announcing the epic lineup of its Memorial Day weekend card, UFC 187.

Details after the jump.

As confirmed by Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, UFC 187 will not only feature a main event light heavyweight title tilt between Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson, but a co-main event that will finally see Chris Weidman defend his middleweight title against Vitor Belfort.

Oh, and had I mentioned that Donald Cerrone will also be squaring off against Khabib Nurmagomedov in a meeting of top lightweights on that card as well? Or that Andrei Arlovski will be facing Travis Browne? Or that Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga? GOOD GOD, SOMEBODY STOP ME BEFORE I-

Despite lacking any semblance of an undercard, UFC 187 is already being hailed as the most stacked event since UFC 100, and rightfully so. Hell, it’s arguably the best lineup the UFC has ever had. Go ahead, challenge me on this. I’ll be here, grinding my teeth in anticipation for what is the most stacked UFC event ever ever.

Jon Jones, as you know, is fresh off a five-round shellacking of Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, while “Rumble” just finished disposing of the man many expected would be facing Jones next, Alexander Gustafsson.

Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort have been expected to face each other on no less than a dozen occasions, with TRT withdrawals and injuries (most recently, a rib injury on Weidman’s part) nixing the bout on multiple occasions.

As for Cerrone and Nurmagomedov, the former is currently riding career record-tying 7-fight win streak, having most recently eeked out a decision over rival/buddy Ben Henderson in January. The Russian Sambo specialist, on the other hand, was briefly linked to a fight with Cerrone at UFC 178 before a knee injury sidelined him indefinitely.

And finally, to the only guys whose careers you might not be completely up to date on. Since being knocked out by Demetrious Johnson in their UFC on FOX 9 rematch, Team Alpha Male’s Joe Benavidez has scored back-to-back wins over Tim Elliott and Dustin Ortiz. His opponent Moraga has similarly bounced back after tasting defeat against Johnson, having gone 3-1 in his past 4 fights and riding a two fight win streak into his fight with Benavidez.

Got. Damn. This card is incredible. Pray with me, Nation. Pray that this thing actually makes it to fruition.

Matt Mitrione Angling Hard for Bout with Andrei Arlovski

Matt Mitrione is picking a fight, and on Thursday he let the world know it.
The former NFL defensive lineman turned surging UFC heavyweight took to his Twitter account and blasted former two-time heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski for his apparent un…

Matt Mitrione is picking a fight, and on Thursday he let the world know it.

The former NFL defensive lineman turned surging UFC heavyweight took to his Twitter account and blasted former two-time heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski for his apparent unwillingness to throw down inside the Octagon.

According to Mitrione, he had just received word that Arlovski had turned down his offer to fight for the second time—citing that “Meathead” was not ranked high enough to fetch his interest.

This turn of events incited the The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 alum, and he launched a tirade at the Jackson-Winkeljohn-trained fighter:

His efforts caught Arlovski’s attention, and the savvy veteran ever so politely returned fire:

While a Twitter back-and-forth with a potential opponent in the last thing Mitrione wanted, Thursday’s events are signs that the Lafayette, Indiana-based fighter’s patience is boiling over. He’s on a three-fight winning streak—all of which have come via first-round destruction—with his most recent victim being former interim title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC on Fox 13 back in December.

Mitrione built some serious momentum with his 2014 campaign and is eager to continue his climb up the heavyweight ladder. He has no problem jumping into the driver’s seat to get that done.

“I’m trying to move up in the world and I’m doing whatever I can to make that happen,” Mitrione told Bleacher Report. “I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to do that as soon as possible. I’ve already been on the shelf for two months and [Arlovski] has been out longer than that. Let’s do the fight in Montreal in April or wherever and whenever we can get this done. I’m looking to fight as soon as possible. I’m looking to move up in the world and I don’t have time to be waiting. I’ve been looking for a fight for awhile and now I’m picking one.

“I was being respectful and waiting for Arlovski to accept the fight, but now he’s clowning me? I don’t have time for that, dude. Come on. He’s going to go on Twitter and ask fans who he should fight when he’s turning down fights with me? I don’t care what the guy says. I’m ready to scrap. I’m ready to do work.”

With Mitrione taking his friction with Arlovski into public view, it will be interesting to see how things develop between the two heavyweights going forward. As he stated on Twitter, Mitrione‘s biggest point of contention is that Arlovski claims he isn’t ranked high enough to warrant a fight, yet the Belarus native held the 14th spot in the rankings when he faced the No. 4-ranked Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva last September.

The affable heavyweight knockout artist doesn’t understand why Arlovski refuses to give him the same opportunity—especially when the current heavyweight landscape leaves few options outside of a future clash between the two.

There is no time line set for Junior dos Santos to return following his victory over Stipe Miocic in December, and a bout against Travis Browne would make sense for the former champion’s next matchup. The only other viable option for the Chicago transplant would be Ben Rothwell, but the two heavyweights already collided once on a previous occasion, with Arlovski getting the KO victory at Affliction: Banned in 2008.

Interim title challenger Mark Hunt could also be an option, but the “Super Samoan” is coming off a loss to Fabricio Werdum in his most recent outing at UFC 180 last November.

In the past, the UFC has favored matchups that fight fans are excited to see, and Mitrione‘s outburst is clearly a play in that particular lane. He’s letting the world know he’s placed a target on Arlovski, and it will be interesting to see how things heat up between the two heavyweights.

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com