Former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski, finds himself in a peculiar situation tonight when he locks horns with the undefeated Jake O’Brien at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion.”
“The Pitbull” — one of the organization’s biggest stars — is competing on the untelevised preliminary card. It’s a big step down for a man who has seemingly done nothing wrong inside the Octagon sans a few “dull” performances.
That’s perhaps more than likely not the primary reason, however, Arlovski will not be featured on the pay-per-view (PPV) live this evening. It’s what’s going on outside the Octagon that has everyone abuzz.
He’s got one fight remaining on his current UFC deal and there’s talk that he was forced to “sit on the bench” until an extension was struck. In fact, Arlovksi has not fought in almost one year … and he’s been perfectly healthy.
We caught up with Andrei and discussed his fight later on tonight, the contract situation and his plans going forward. He was tight-lipped for much of the interview, but that can be attributed in part to the sensitivity of his future talks with the Zuffa brass about a new deal after the O’Brien fight.
Here it is:
MMAmania.com: Andrei, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule. We know that you’ve got a lot going on this weekend with your return to the Octagon against Jake O’Brien. So let’s start with that. What do you think of O’Brien?
Andrei Arlovski: Jake O’Brien is a very good, well-rounded fighter. I look forward to test my skills against him.
MMAmania.com: What have you done to prepare for him? Please explain a little bit about your training and training camp.
Andrei Arlovski: My training and my training camp was the same as always.
MMAmania.com: Because you are such a fan favorite and have been with the organization for so long, what were your thoughts and feelings when you found out that you would be fighting on the undercard? It seems like a lack of respect for one of the organization’s top consistent draws for the past few years.
Andrei Arlovski: My job is to fight. It is UFC’s job to promote and it’s up to them where they put my fight. I am a fighter, not a promoter.
MMAmania.com: Is there any added pressure to finish this fight fight convincingly to prove that you are worth your asking price in future negotiantions?
Andrei Arlovski: What asking price? As far as I know, I haven’t asked for any money.
MMAmania.com: Okay … so then what is the gameplan, especially if he intends to grind out a boring decision. Is this a fight in which we will see the Pitbull throw caution to the wind?
Andrei Arlovski: As always, I have a gameplan. I will try and execute and do everything I can to win the fight.
MMAmania.com: You haven’t fought since the Fabricio Werdum bout back in April 2007. Ring rust — will it play a factor?
Andrei Arlovski: I was not just sitting around for the last 10 months.
MMAmania.com: What is your current contract status with the UFC? Has anything changed since we previously spoke?
Andrei Arlovski: The contract situation is between myself and the UFC. It would be unprofessional and unethical to discuss it at this time.
MMAmania.com: It’s safe to say that several of the top heavyweights are now competing outside the Octagon. Do you want to be back in the UFC, why or why not?
Andrei Arlovski: I have been a UFC fighter for over seven years and I do not have any other plans at this point in time. I am concentrating on my fight for Saturday.
MMAmania.com: If you do re-sign, and you defeat O’Brien, do you feel you deserve the title shot that was promised to you in 2007 but never honored?
Andrei Arlovski: At the end of the day it is not my decision who gets the title fight. I am a contender and will wait in line like everyone else.
MMAmania.com: Who do you see winning the heavyweight bout between Cheick Kongo and Heath Herring Herring at UFC 82?
Andrei Arlovski: I wish them both the best of luck but I do not like to make predictions.
MMAmania.com: Who are some of the fighters who allegedly refused to take a fight with you before O’Brien, can you name names?
Andrei Arlovski: I am not in a position to discuss privileged information. This question should be directed to Dana White.
MMAmania.com: Who are some of the fighters (besides Sylvia) who you want to challenge in your next few fights?
Andrei Arlovski: Never in the past have I picked my opponents. The promoter has always picked them. I just want to be able to fight the best guys out there and test my skills against the best competition.
MMAmania.com: Thanks, Andrei. We know you’re pressed for time. Good luck against O’Brien and with everything else going forward. Are there any sponsors you like to plug before we wrap this up?
Andrei Arlovski: Yes, thank you. I have two new sponsors, Trendkilla.com and cafepress.com/arlovski. I would like to thank the rest of my sponsors, Dreamsoft, Prestige Auto Gallery and Geneva Seal for their continued support.
MMAmania.com: Sounds great. And how about a final message for your fans before the fight?
Andrei Arlovski: Thank you for your continued support during my time away for the Octagon. I appreciate and read the emails you send to me on arlovski.tv and myspace.com/arlovski.
March 1st, 2008
37 Comments »
I plead the 5th
wow .. he didn’t say anything. Mania are you sure you were talking to him and not his ufc hired pr rep?
Holy crap, that’s one tight-lipped Belorussian.
[quote comment=”337176″]wow .. he didn’t say anything. Mania are you sure you were talking to him and not his ufc hired pr rep?[/quote]
Ha … I’m pretty sure. I think.
[quote post=”5147″]wow .. he didn’t say anything. Mania are you sure you were talking to him and not his ufc hired pr rep? [/quote]
Yeah for sure. I don’t know how talkative he was in any of his previous interviews, but he was sure tight lipped in this one. Here’s to hoping he’s as truly focused on training and not worried about the contract issues as he appears to be.
just by his responses you can tell hes pissed off about the whole situation
One question i would have liked to see was does he think fedor is the best fighter in the world, but then again he probably would have answered by saying thats not my job to judge so I guess beter it wasnt asked
Wow, that was the worst interview ever, no offense Mania. I fell asleep.
you commenters must be super successful in your professional lives. when someone is tight lipped like that it usually is because they are in the middle of negotiations. he doesn’t mention the money he asked for because he wants to get the most he can. he knows if he commits that Dana will use that as a tool to make him look unprofessional. He already made Randy look like a lying idiot when it came to money. Tito whines and whines about money and got his walking papers. Even though he makes it seem like it was his choice. Get your cheddar AA. Don’t say a thing and you’ll be fine.
hes leaving
DW has disrespected him too much
i like dana a lot for what he frank and lorenzo have done for mma but at times he needs some diplomacy
especially now that there are other orgs starting up
relationships with randy tito AA seem to have deteriorated to the point that thye wont come back
add to that ninja fedor randleman coleman and a few others not signing for various reasons
they are all rich and also have options to fight elsewhere now
its crazy how many top HW fighters arent in the ufc
in all seriousness who ever thought kongo herring would ever be even close to co main event
Yeah that was a pretty pointless interview… he didnt even mention anything new hes been doing for training :/
He was very diplomatic in his responses. It sounded like he really does want to continue to fight in the UFC, and didn’t want to say anything negative to jeopardize his chances of negotiating a new contract. If nothing else, the UFC should appreciate the fact that despite ample reason and opportunity to badmouth their organization he took the high road and was very respectful. He has always been a great ambassador for the sport and is a fan favorite. I hope they can work something out to keep him fighting in the UFC. The HW division certainly needs him.
I hate to see Arlovski go but in all fareness to the UFC they spend the money. And if a fighter gets boring then what do you expect. I think AA is better than Herring or Congo but he needs to get over that KO that Silvia gave him cause he really hasn’t been the same, he’s gun shy.
he must not like you cause he answered most the questions during his one on one video floating around the net. haha. maybe he is just focused.
i hope that AA leaves the ufc. id rather see him fight somewhere else where he is on the main card. this prelims crap is a joke. i hope mark cuban grabs him up quick. i wouldnt mind seing any combo of fights between randy,AA and fedor.
im sure we will hear alot more after the fight is over. somebody will pay big bucks for him to start or improve their HW division. AA vs kimbo would be fun in elitexc on cbs maybe throw in that tito vs frank 2 fight on the card and while your at it have randy vs fedor headlining somehow. maybe hdnets, m1, and elitexc work together they can make something happen. just dreaming ofcourse.
Okay what I want to know is who are the fighters that don’t want to face AA? Personally I like to werdum and AA to kick that sallys ass again. I just hope dana and zuffa dont let go one of there best fighters. When UFC comes to chicago I want to see AA fighting in his own back yard. I like the fact that he was professional as he was.
This guy is the worst interview I ever read, please Jake kick his ass
AA versus Kimbo? Are you serious? So far all they throw at kimob is one no name and one of the older greats of MMA. Im not bashing Tank in any shape or form but that was a terrible match up. If resigned a contract I believe AA should be put into title contention. Im sorry but the heavy weight division is so shitty right now that they need AA. Now AA versus Big nog would be something.
Arlovski is a BEAST and should be the next title contender.
He will destroy O’Brien, and then the UFC will HAVE to pay him the big $$$ to put him up against Big Nog.
Who else deserves a shot at Big Nog for the title? And PLEASE do not say Herring or Kongo, those guys aren’t title contenders yet. Herring lost 3 times to Big Nog, and Kongo would get DESTROYED by Big Nog’s BJJ and the UFC knows it
[quote comment=”337432″]Arlovski is a BEAST and should be the next title contender.
He will destroy O’Brien, and then the UFC will HAVE to pay him the big $$$ to put him up against Big Nog.
Who else deserves a shot at Big Nog for the title? And PLEASE do not say Herring or Kongo, those guys aren’t title contenders yet. Herring lost 3 times to Big Nog, and Kongo would get DESTROYED by Big Nog’s BJJ and the UFC knows it[/quote]
True that. Arlovski is definitely a beast. I love watching him fight because he’s just so dangerous wherever it goes.
Anyways, I just ran across this Mike Chiapetta (sp?) article on Arlovski over at nbcsports.com and in it Arlovski had a bit more to say than here and there’s even a good quote from Dana saying he wants Andrei back.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23417792/
I really would be shocked if AA isn’t back with the UFC with a nice new contract by next week.
[quote comment=”337185″][quote post=”5147″]wow .. he didn’t say anything. Mania are you sure you were talking to him and not his ufc hired pr rep? [/quote]
Yeah for sure. I don’t know how talkative he was in any of his previous interviews, but he was sure tight lipped in this one. Here’s to hoping he’s as truly focused on training and not worried about the contract issues as he appears to be.[/quote]
he sounded like typical AA.every interview i’ve seen with him he’s like this. he’s a fighter, not a promoter and all he cares about is fighting.
this guy gives the worst most boring interviews i have ever seen. I think he needs to throw caution to the wind and let his hands go and i also think he needs to open up outside the octago if he wants to keep his fans base because as of lately his fights and interviews are some of the most boring in the industry.
Arlovski is the only fighter who can truly say, “I do my talking in the ring.”
I love this guy.
[quote comment=”337308″]I hate to see Arlovski go but in all fareness to the UFC they spend the money. And if a fighter gets boring then what do you expect. I think AA is better than Herring or Congo but he needs to get over that KO that Silvia gave him cause he really hasn’t been the same, he’s gun shy.[/quote]
THANK U U SAID IT PERFECT…I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE BLAME DANA AND THE UFC CAUSE PEOPLE LEAVE RANDY IS A SELLOUT CRYBABY BUM,TITO IS ON THE MAJOR DECLINE NOW WHO CARES AT ALL ABOUT RANDLEMAN AND THE OTHER BUMS IF AA LOOKS GOOD 2NITE HE WILL PROLLY B BROUGHT BAK ALL I GOTTA SAY IS DANA KEEP DOIN A GREAT JOB
[quote comment=”337483″]Arlovski is the only fighter who can truly say, “I do my talking in the ring.”
I love this guy.[/quote]
What r u talking about? Anderson Silva only does his talking in the ring. He never trashed talked an opponent since being in the UFC.
Monte Cox: M-1 will probably lose Fedor (Quote, with source)
Q: There have been some rumors going around that Fedor Emelianenko’s management was shopping him around to other promotions. There have also been rumors that the relationship between Fedor’s management and M-1 Global was not going very well. At any point during recent discussions, was the possibility of severing ties with Fedor ever discussed?
MC: I think in the last five months we’ve looked at every scenario possible. We’ve looked at continuing without Fedor and I’m sure Fedor has looked at working with somebody else. It’s been a difficult five months but like (M-1 Chairman) Mitchell Maxwell says, anything worth doing takes time. And there’s difficulty involved in that and that’s what I think is happening here. I think it would have been easy to just say let’s go out and do a show and then figure it out. And all of us involved said “No, no, no.”
Uh-oh….Fedor is going to bounce…most likely to DREAM
Somebody’s probably going to offer AA more money than Dana is willing to give him. The winner of Werdum vs. Vera will most likely fight Big Nog, and the winner of Kongo vs. Herring will probably fight Big Timmy, so the winner of that can get the next shot at the title. The HW divison may be weaker than the MW division, and that’s saying something. Is the winner of the Tanner vs. Okami fight going to fight the winner of the Spider vs. Hendo fight?
[quote comment=”337705″]Somebody’s probably going to offer AA more money than Dana is willing to give him. The winner of Werdum vs. Vera will most likely fight Big Nog, and the winner of Kongo vs. Herring will probably fight Big Timmy, so the winner of that can get the next shot at the title. The HW divison may be weaker than the MW division, and that’s saying something. Is the winner of the Tanner vs. Okami fight going to fight the winner of the Spider vs. Hendo fight?[/quote]
It would be dumb if Werdum or Vera got a title shot right away. Both guys need 2 solid wins to get a shot IMO. Maybe the winner of Werdum/Vera faces Mir for the number 1 contender spot.
[quote comment=”337255″]hes leaving
DW has disrespected him too much
i like dana a lot for what he frank and lorenzo have done for mma but at times he needs some diplomacy
especially now that there are other orgs starting up
relationships with randy tito AA seem to have deteriorated to the point that thye wont come back
add to that ninja fedor randleman coleman and a few others not signing for various reasons
they are all rich and also have options to fight elsewhere now
its crazy how many top HW fighters arent in the ufc
in all seriousness who ever thought kongo herring would ever be even close to co main event[/quote]
are you really nate diaz?????
[quote comment=”337183″][quote comment=”337176″]wow .. he didn’t say anything. Mania are you sure you were talking to him and not his ufc hired pr rep?[/quote]
Ha … I’m pretty sure. I think.[/quote]
Mania,how do I get in touch with for the winning info?
I know he didn’t say much, but I respect the way he handle it better then some UFC fighters who bad mouth. I hope the UFC and Arlovski work out a new deal.
Not much of an interview…
Hardly worth posting.
AA will likely get resigned and run through the ranks.
I hope he gets a contract with the UFC. Dana got over his head with crocrop, couture, trying to get Fedor, and other H-W’s and lost track of Andre. Now with Couture, crocrop, gone and Kongo, losing he has to be somewhere in the mix for a title shot.
[quote comment=”337487″][quote comment=”337308″]I hate to see Arlovski go but in all fareness to the UFC they spend the money. And if a fighter gets boring then what do you expect. I think AA is better than Herring or Congo but he needs to get over that KO that Silvia gave him cause he really hasn’t been the same, he’s gun shy.[/quote]
THANK U U SAID IT PERFECT…I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE BLAME DANA AND THE UFC CAUSE PEOPLE LEAVE RANDY IS A SELLOUT CRYBABY BUM,TITO IS ON THE MAJOR DECLINE NOW WHO CARES AT ALL ABOUT RANDLEMAN AND THE OTHER BUMS IF AA LOOKS GOOD 2NITE HE WILL PROLLY B BROUGHT BAK ALL I GOTTA SAY IS DANA KEEP DOIN A GREAT JOB[/quote]
HELL YEAH!!!
[quote comment=”339309″][quote comment=”337487″][quote comment=”337308″]I hate to see Arlovski go but in all fareness to the UFC they spend the money. And if a fighter gets boring then what do you expect
–This isnt the popularity competition ya know?? As a fighter, the most important thing is winning, no matter how its done! So u think hes boring, well put someone up against him who will make it exciting while beating the crap out of AA…JUST BE SURE TO LET KNOW WHEN U FIND HIM! many of you like DANA, no fing respect for AA eventhough he continues to win.
AA seriously, cut you loses and run from DANA, your interview with MMAmania clearly shows ur not happy and you continue to get pushed aside. They didnt televise you! and worse, didnt bother to put you on the post fight. You cant even express your own opinion anymore as it appears from ur answers given to MMAmania. Follow the seasoned fighters like randy, tito, fedor, barnett etc Theyve been there done that, and they r not happy W dana for a good reason im sure…good luck to u AA!
love the dood - but god dam he sucks at interviews !
OMG was that the most boring and un-informative interview I ever seen!!!!! It was actually laughable.
[quote post=”5147″]MMAmania.com: Okay … so then what is the gameplan, especially if he intends to grind out a boring decision. Is this a fight in which we will see the Pitbull throw caution to the wind?
Andrei Arlovski: As always, I have a gameplan. I will try and execute and do everything I can to win the fight.
MMAmania.com: You haven’t fought since the Fabricio Werdum bout back in April 2007. Ring rust — will it play a factor?
Andrei Arlovski: I was not just sitting around for the last 10 months.[/quote]
LMAO!!!!!!!!!
You’d be better interviewing a wall instead of Andrei next time…
[quote comment=”338117″][quote comment=”337255″]hes leaving
DW has disrespected him too much
i like dana a lot for what he frank and lorenzo have done for mma but at times he needs some diplomacy
especially now that there are other orgs starting up
relationships with randy tito AA seem to have deteriorated to the point that thye wont come back
add to that ninja fedor randleman coleman and a few others not signing for various reasons
they are all rich and also have options to fight elsewhere now
its crazy how many top HW fighters arent in the ufc
in all seriousness who ever thought kongo herring would ever be even close to co main event[/quote]
are you really nate diaz?????[/quote]
no, its not. But “Jon Fitch” is really Jon Fitch. He is the only fighter that I know of that posts here… Someone correct me if I’m wrong.