Andrei Arlovski

Arlovski was scheduled to face Philipe Lins on May 2, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 174. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. and rescheduled to May 13, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Arlovski faced Augusto Sakai on April 27, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. He lost the fight by a controversial split decision.

A rematch with Ben Rothwell took place on July 20, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4. He won the fight via unanimous decision and set the all-time record for UFC heavyweight victories at 17.

His next fight was with Jairzinho Rozenstruik on November 2, 2019 at UFC 244. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.

Arlovski faced Stefan Struve on 4 March 2018 at UFC 222. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In the fight, Arlovski landed a career-best 4 takedowns, more than his entire career total up to that time (3) combined.

Arlovski faced Tai Tuivasa at UFC 225 on 9 June 2018. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Arlovski faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on 15 September 2018 at UFC Fight Night 136. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Arlovski faced Walt Harris on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232. He lost the fight via split decision. The result was overturned to no contest after Harris tested positive for prohibited substance LGB4033, a selective androgen receptor module (SARM).

In 2018, Arlovski had a small role as a mob enforcer opposite Denzel Washington in the opening scene of The Equalizer 2.

Arlovski faced Francis Ngannou on 28 January 2017 at UFC on Fox 23. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Arlovski faced Marcin Tybura on 17 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night 111. He lost the fight by unanimous decision (29–28, 28–27, and 29–27).

Arlovski faced Júnior Albini at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis on 11 November 2017 in Norfolk, Virginia. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Arlovski returned to face Stipe Miocic on 2 January 2016, at UFC 195. He was defeated via TKO in the first round.

Arlovski faced Alistair Overeem on 8 May 2016, at UFC Fight Night 87. After a back and forth first round, Arlovski lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Arlovski next faced Josh Barnett on 3 September 2016, at UFC Fight Night 93. He lost the fight via submission in the third round, resulting in his first submission loss in his professional MMA career. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night for their performance.

Arlovski faced Travis Browne on 23 May 2015, at UFC 187. Despite being a heavy underdog and being knocked down in the first round, Arlovski stunned Browne multiple times throughout the opening minutes, and eventually won the fight via TKO in the first round. Post-fight, Joe Rogan revealed in commentary that Arlovski came close to withdrawing from the fight due to a calf injury in training. The win also earned Arlovski his first Fight of the Night bonus award.

Arlovski faced Frank Mir on 5 September 2015, at UFC 191, winning by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27) in a fight which many, including UFC president Dana White, thought Mir won. 12 of 15 media outlets, however, scored the bout in favor of Arlovski.

In 2015, Arlovski appeared on the TV show Limitless in episode 7 "Brian Finch's Black Op". Arlovski played the role of a suspected terrorist hunted by the CIA. The show originally aired 3 November 2015.

On 24 April 2014, it was confirmed by multiple MMA media websites that Arlovski had been granted his release from WSOF to return to UFC. The former heavyweight champion fought Brendan Schaub at UFC 174 on 14 June 2014. Arlovski was victorious in his return to the UFC, defeating Schaub via split decision (28–29, 29–28, and 29–28).

It was announced that Arlovski would be facing Antônio Silva in a rematch on 13 September 2014, at UFC Fight Night 51. Despite being a heavy betting underdog, Arlovski won the fight via knockout in the first round, after landing two consecutive right hands that dropped Silva and subsequent hammerfists on the ground with Silva unable to defend himself. This win also won Arlovski his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Arlovski fought Anthony Johnson in the main event at World Series of Fighting 2 on 23 March 2013. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Controversy arose after the fight when it was revealed that multiple rounds exceeded the five-minute time limit. The punch believed to have broken Arlovski's jaw was landed after the time at which the round should have ended.

Arlovski next replaced an injured Anthony Johnson against Mike Kyle at WSOF 5 on 14 September 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Arlovski was also scheduled to fight 2 time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion and veteran of over 60 fights Jeff Monson in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 2 February 2013, but the event was postponed.

Arlovski fought Andreas Kraniotakes at Fight Nights - Battle in Minsk on 29 November 2013, and Arlovski won the fight via TKO in the second round.

In mid-July 2012, it was announced that Arlovski had signed with the Asia-based promotion ONE Fighting Championship. Originally Arlvoski was scheduled to fight Soa Palelei but Soa Palelei was later replaced with Tim Sylvia. The promotion quickly announced that Arlovski would face Tim Sylvia in his debut, marking the fourth time the two fighters had faced each other.

Arlovski and Sylvia faced off at ONE Fighting Championship: Pride of a Nation on 31 August 2012, in Manila. The fight between Arlovski and Tim Sylvia ended in a no-contest due to an illegal soccer kick by Arlovski. According to ONE FC rules, soccer kicks are legal only if the referee clears the fighter to do so after determining the grounded fighter can still intelligently defend himself. Arlovski received no such clearance and the kick was therefore deemed illegal. Four days later, One FC eliminated this restriction. This rule change, had it been enforced prior to the bout, would have resulted in Arlovki winning by TKO. Arlovski had knocked Tim Sylvia down with punches before he landed the illegal kicks that caused the referee to stop the fight.

Arlovski headlined the debut event from the World Series of Fighting against fellow Strikeforce veteran Devin Cole on 3 November 2012, at World Series of Fighting 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event aired live on NBC Sports. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Arlovski faced Bellator veteran Mike Hayes at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 9 on 16 December 2012, in Moscow, Russia. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Arlovski was defeated by Sergei Kharitonov via KO on 12 February 2011, as part of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament. It was his fourth straight loss, three of which were by way of KO. On 17 February 2011, Arlovski posted a video on his website in which he spoke for over an hour, repeatedly saying that he would absolutely not retire. Arlovski indicated that his trainers had recommended that he retire; however, Greg Jackson was against his retirement. Arlovski dedicated himself to training exclusively with Greg Jackson in New Mexico to refocus on his MMA career and make the necessary changes to get back on track.

Arlovski's movie debut was in 8 of Diamonds in 2006. He starred in Universal Soldier: Regeneration in 2009, along with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. In the movie, he plays an "NGU", a new generation UniSol in the main "bad guy" role. The movie was released directly to video on 2 February 2010, in the United States. Arlovski also played a part in the next Universal Soldier movie — Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, released in theaters on 30 November 2012, and on demand on 25 October 2012.

In January 2009, Arlovski faced the last reigning PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Arlovski looked exceptionally well prepared and focused but despite his encouraging early efforts, Arlovski lost the fight via KO in the opening round after jumping in with a very long range knee and being caught with an over-hand right punch.

On 6 June 2009, Arlovski fought up and coming heavyweight Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields. Arlovski lost the fight via TKO in the opening round. After the defeat, in October 2009, Arlovski began training with acclaimed MMA coach Greg Jackson. Arlovski was a featured attendee at Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers, where he was mobbed by a crowd of local Chicago fans. Arlovski was signed to Strikeforce and fought former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antônio Silva on 15 May 2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. Following 3 rounds of hard-hitting punches from both and with neither fighter giving in to the other, Arlovski lost by unanimous decision.

After leaving the UFC, Arlovski signed with the newly created MMA-promotion Affliction and participated in their inaugural event Affliction: Banned on 19 July 2008. He fought and defeated top ranked heavyweight fighter and former IFL heavyweight stand-out Ben Rothwell by KO in the final round of the fight, ending Rothwell's 13 fight win streak and giving him his first defeat in over 3 years.

Originally scheduled to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion and top-ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett in the main event at Affliction's second pay-per-view, Affliction: Day of Reckoning, on 11 October 2008, the event was rescheduled and Arlovski would instead be matched up against the last reigning IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson at EliteXC: Heat on 4 October 2008, in Sunrise, Florida in a co-promotion with EliteXC. Arlovski won the fight via KO in the second round and in the process became the only man to ever finish Nelson in his MMA career at that point.

In a rematch with Tim Sylvia at UFC 59 on 15 April 2006, Arlovski knocked Sylvia down with a right hand punch early in the first round. Sylvia was able to protect himself and recovered almost immediately. While Arlovski tried to finish Sylvia with a right lead, Sylvia countered with a short right uppercut to the chin, knocking Arlovski to the mat. Sylvia followed up with punches on the ground until referee Herb Dean stopped the match at 2:43 of the first round.

The rubber match between Tim Sylvia and Arlovski took place on 8 July 2006, at UFC 61. In what turned out to be a 5-round battle of attrition, neither fighter was able to KO the other, or even land any truly significant blows. In the end Sylvia won the fight by unanimous decision. It was later discovered that during the fight, Arlovski had been significantly injured by a checked leg kick sometime in the second round which left him unable to throw kicks of his own or make any takedown attempts. When confronted by a reporter about the injury, Arlovski avoided responding directly and would only say "I do not want to talk about my injuries or look for any other excuses." Not too long after it was revealed Sylvia had sustained an injury as he fainted at his hotel room and upon hospital examination, doctors discovered a concussion.

Arlovski made his next appearance on 30 December 2006, at UFC 66 against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Márcio Cruz. After being taken down, he kicked Cruz in the shoulder (which is legal), but it was mistaken for a head kick (which is illegal) by referee Herb Dean. When the referee intervened, he decided, because of Cruz's insistence, to allow both fighters to stay on the ground as opposed to standing them up, as is the general practice. Thereafter, Arlovski struck Cruz with a strong blow to the chin, then continued beating Cruz with hammerfists until the fight was stopped.

In 2004, a motorcycle accident injury suffered by then UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir led to the creation of an interim heavyweight title. It was decided that the two top heavyweight contenders would meet to declare the interim champion and on 5 February 2005, at UFC 51, Arlovski faced former heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia. In the fight, Arlovski eventually connected with an overhand right and dropped Sylvia. On the ground, Arlovski followed up with an Achilles lock that forced Sylvia to tap out at 47 seconds of the first round, making Arlovski the new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion.

Arlovski went on to defend his interim title on 4 June 2005, at UFC 53, against Justin Eilers. Arlovski won the bout by TKO in the first round. After the fight, it was revealed that Eilers had suffered extensive injuries, including a badly broken nose, two broken hands and a complete ACL tear.

In October 2005, Arlovski once again defended his title at UFC 55 against top contender Paul Buentello. Arlovski knocked out Buentello in 15 seconds of the opening round. On 12 August 2005, the UFC announced that it now recognized Arlovski as the undisputed heavyweight champion, as Frank Mir had not fully rehabilitated from his motorcycle accident.

Enrolling at the police academy in Minsk, Arlovski combined his interest in a career in law enforcement with his growing martial arts participation by taking up the required police defense course in Sambo and quickly showed himself to be a highly competent Sambo opponent. In 1999, Arlovski won the European Youth Sambo Championship and the World Youth Championship. Not long after, Arlovski became the first Master of Sports and then International Master of Sports. He took a silver medal at the Sambo World Cup and another silver medal at the World Sambo Championship.

At the age of 20, Arlovski began his professional MMA career at the Mix Fight M-1 in St Petersburg, Russia on 9 April 1999. It was a fairly inauspicious start, losing by KO to Viacheslav Datsik. Not deterred, Arlovski returned in 2000 to M-1 Global at the European Championships, taking the heavyweight crown with a submission victory and a KO victory.

Arlovski was born in Babruisk, Byelorussian SSR (now Belarus). When he was younger, bullies often picked on him and beat him up. In 1994, when he was 14 years old, he had finally had enough and started lifting weights to put on muscle and, he hoped, to help him deal with these bullies. Arlovski only took up martial arts at the age of 16 in sports such as Sambo, Judo and Kickboxing.

Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski (Belarusian: Андрэй Валер'евіч Арлоўскі , Belarusian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛj vaˈlʲɛrɛvitʃ arˈlɔwski] , born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has also competed for Strikeforce, WSOF, Affliction, EliteXC, ONE FC and M-1 Challenge. He currently fights in the UFC Heavyweight division.