Archive for the 'Andrei Arlovski' Category

Pictured: The poster for this weekend’s Strikeforce show, featuring Fedor Emilianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Sergei Kharitanov, and Antonio Silva.

There couldn’t be a better week to start off Ajit’s Strikeforce Spotlight here on Total-MMA.

The Strikeforce heavyweight GP, which many are deeming the best tournament in MMA history, kicks off this weekend in New Jersey.

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(Author’s Note: This article had been planned since Strikeforce: “Heavy Artillery” but was pushed back due to scheduling issues.)

It’s a tough time to be a fan of Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski.

Two of his last three fights have seen him on the receiving end of vicious knockouts, with his last fight causing many to wonder just how many years Arlovski has left in a sport that, like so many other former champions, may have finally caught up to his level of skill and, in fact, passed him by. Still, Arlovski remains one of the most popular Mixed Martial Artists actively competing- his ovation at Strikeforce: “Heavy Artillery” easily surpassed any of his fellow fighters. Arlovski also remains one of the most marketable fighters in the sport- as seen during his “Heavy Artillery” entrance, Arlovski may be the first and only fighter to ever land famed clothing company Dolce & Gabbana as a sponsor. So where did it all go wrong, and more importantly, how and why? Does Arlovski still have enough left in him to turn things around in the face of a three-fight losing streak, or will his popularity and marketability truly be put to the test as Arlovski continues his free-fall from the Heavyweight rankings?

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Remember a while back the whole “Andrei Arlovski wants to kill himself” rumor that was floating around? Andrei Arlovski admitted to playing a game of Russian Roulette after his crushing loss to Brett Rogers. Arlovski sets the record straight on this. It wasn’t because he was depressed he lost to Brett Rogers, he was simply bored or stuck in some existential netherworld.

“Some guy on Internet said I played Russian roulette because I was depressed about losing,” Arlovski said. “Let’s get real here, guys. I didn’t play Russian roulette because I was depressed that I lost to Brett Rogers. I wasn’t depressed. I was just in a bad mood.” 

When I’m in a bad mood I don’t usually hold a revolver to my head with a set number of bullets in it to see if I can get lucky. Maybe I’m just not in the Belarussian mindset like Arlovski, or maybe he is suffering from PTSD and just can’t leave behind the world which I’ve grown accustomed to. He also has made a tough decision to focus on MMA and put the boxing dreams aside.

“MMA now is number one priority for me,” Arlovski assured fans during a video chat, but he hasn’t buried his squared circle aspirations, adding, “Definitely, I want to try [boxing].” Arlovski also announced he’s considering competing at a North American Grappling Association event, saying, “I’ve been working on my jiu-jitsu.” 

Oh, but he wants to fight Sylvia again. Ouch. Nobody wants that.

I won’t lie and I’ll come out and say it; Andrei Arlovski has been one of my absolute favorite fighters for years now. Part of what made him special was his showmanship on top of his raw power and ability. Not only was there a guy with an incredibly solid build who is fast on his feet in a world of Paul Buentello’s and Ricco Rodriguez’s knocking people out with his heavy and fast hands, but he had crazy hair, a beard and fangs. His interviews were awesome, stuff like “I have a strong arm, can smash” and so on. Andrei Arlovski was a rabid wolf among wild boar and made a name for himself as Heavyweight Champion in the United States when there were no heavyweights to look up to.

It is 2009 now and things have changed. Andrei seems to be done with his mighty Affliction deal involving upwards of 7 figures for him to step into the ring (if you think most guys were locked into three fights, he had two Affliction bouts and an EliteXC paid-for-by-Affliction fight) and seems to be testing the waters with Strikeforce. The only problem is, after an impressive post-Tim Sylvia win streak, he has two losses in a row. One to easily the best Heavyweight in the history of the sport after a great effort, Fedor, the other to, well, Brett Rogers.

I am not attempting to take anything away from Rogers, because Rogers did as he probably planned to and he won. The thing is, Rogers has never shown anything other than his ability to smash somebody in the face with his fists, which is exactly what he did to Andrei. It is hard to say if Rogers is actually a good fighter or not because we don’t know what he looks like in later rounds and we don’t know what he looks like against a top fighter who is ready to fight. Andrei was not ready to fight.

Andrei not being ready to fight is not Rogers fault, it is clearly Andrei’s, and it has cost him a lot. His boxing debut which was weeks away has been postponed due to his medical suspension for being knocked out, and it isn’t clear what or who he could fight in MMA at this point. The heavyweight scene outside of the UFC right now is very grim, while UFC’s is rather bright. Outside of the UFC he did everything he could possibly do, which was fight 3 emerging challengers in Rothwell, Nelson and Rogers, and fighting the best in the world. The only fights he really has left are a rematch with Rogers and a match with Barnett.

I want to see the Pitbull of old, I want to see Andrei have another run at the top, but I’m just not sure he has it in him anymore.

There are times when it takes a while to come down off of a buzz, and for the second time, a fight card presented by a t-shirt company has done just that. The internet will be abuzz, as usual, with talk of production values, buy rates and attendance. I think pushing all of that aside for a moment what you will see is an ultimately satisfying fight card, with each of the fights providing excitement rarely seen on your average $45 PPV card. Capped off by a fight for the ages, an emotional rollercoaster that was Andrei Arlovski challenging Fedor Emelianenko for the WAMMA Heavyweight Championship.

Affliction’s second card has been plagued since the day it was announced, being cancelled due to poor ticket sales and Affliction trying to seal a deal with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions to help create a buzz around the show. The talk was always that Fedor was not a draw in the United States, but when push came to shove, the card not featuring Fedor was not selling tickets. When Barnett vs. Arlovski was no longer the featured main event, instead Arlovski vs. Fedor a few fans grumbled that Barnett was the better fighter and more likely the better fight for Fedor.

Instead Affliction chose the more memorable UFC Heavyweight Champion to headline against Fedor, and ultimately, it was an incredible decision. Not many fights get me excited anymore. Mixed Martial Arts is growing, and as a part of the growth comes a lot of cards featuring a lot of good, not great fighters facing off against each other. Even if the fighters facing off are great, the match ups are not exciting, they are competitive. They are guys with similar skillsets cancelling each other out, or simply guys with opposing skillsets trying to avoid the other’s strength. But this fight was different, this was two guys who aren’t afraid to engage, who are explosive, and easily the best heavyweights in the world. 

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The big questions right now seem to revolve around Affliction; will this second show finally happen? Will it draw? Can Fedor vs. Arlovski break 20,000 buys? The first time they attempted to run this show it was with Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski headlining, and apparently ticket sales and interest was so sluggish that the show was scrapped altogether. The second time, it was due to a possible Goldenboy deal that things fell through.

Posted in Andrei Arlovski, Dave Walsh, Fedor Emelianenko | 3 Comments »