86 Facts About Andrei Arlovski

1.

Andrei Arlovski was born on 4 February 1979 and is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion.

2.

Andrei Arlovski currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and holds the record for most wins in UFC heavyweight history.

3.

Andrei Arlovski was born in Babruisk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union.

4.

Andrei Arlovski only took up martial arts at the age of 16 in sports such as Sambo, Judo and Kickboxing.

5.

In 1999, Andrei Arlovski won the European Youth Sambo Championship and the World Youth Championship.

6.

Not long after, Andrei Arlovski became the first Master of Sports and then International Master of Sports.

7.

Andrei Arlovski took a silver medal at the Sambo World Cup and another silver medal at the World Sambo Championship.

8.

Andrei Arlovski began taking a greater interest in other martial arts, studying kickboxing and developing his striking skills to complement his Sambo-based grappling abilities.

9.

At the age of 20, Andrei Arlovski began his professional MMA career at the Mix Fight M-1 in St Petersburg, Russia on 9 April 1999 facing Viacheslav Datsik.

10.

Not deterred, Andrei Arlovski returned in 2000 to M-1 Global at the European Championships, taking the heavyweight crown with a submission victory and a KO victory.

11.

Andrei Arlovski made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 28, defeating Aaron Brink by submission.

12.

Andrei Arlovski was then thrown in against top opposition, losing to future UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 32 and heavyweight contender Pedro Rizzo at UFC 36.

13.

Andrei Arlovski ended up facing Wesley Correira, winning the fight via TKO in the second round.

14.

Andrei Arlovski went on to defend his interim title on 4 June 2005, at UFC 53, against Justin Eilers.

15.

In October 2005, Andrei Arlovski defended his title at UFC 55 against top contender Paul Buentello.

16.

Andrei Arlovski knocked out Buentello in 15 seconds of the opening round.

17.

The rubber match between Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski took place on 8 July 2006, at UFC 61.

18.

Andrei Arlovski made his next appearance on 30 December 2006, at UFC 66 against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Marcio Cruz.

19.

Thereafter, Andrei Arlovski struck Cruz with a strong blow to the chin, then continued beating Cruz with hammer fists until the fight was stopped.

20.

Andrei Arlovski fought PRIDE veteran and two-time world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 70, winning by unanimous decision.

21.

Andrei Arlovski 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.

22.

Andrei 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.

23.

In January 2009, Andrei Arlovski faced the last reigning PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.

24.

On 6 June 2009, Andrei Arlovski fought up and coming heavyweight Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields.

25.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight via TKO in the opening round.

26.

Andrei Arlovski was a featured attendee at Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs Rogers, where he was mobbed by a crowd of local Chicago fans.

27.

Andrei Arlovski was signed to Strikeforce and fought former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva on 15 May 2010, at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery.

28.

Andrei Arlovski was defeated by Sergei Kharitonov via KO on 12 February 2011, as part of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament.

29.

On 17 February 2011, Andrei Arlovski posted a video on his website in which he spoke for over an hour, repeatedly saying that he would absolutely not retire.

30.

Andrei Arlovski indicated that his trainers had recommended that he retire; however, Greg Jackson was against his retirement.

31.

Andrei 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.

32.

Andrei Arlovski won by TKO in the third round after dominating Lopez throughout the fight.

33.

Andrei Arlovski won the fight via head kick KO in the final second of the third round.

34.

In mid-July 2012, it was announced that Andrei Arlovski had signed with the Asia-based promotion ONE Fighting Championship.

35.

Andrei Arlovski received no such clearance and the kick was therefore deemed illegal.

36.

Andrei Arlovski had knocked Tim Sylvia down with punches before he landed the illegal kicks that caused the referee to stop the fight.

37.

Andrei 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.

38.

Andrei Arlovski won the fight via TKO in the first round.

39.

Andrei Arlovski fought Anthony Johnson in the main event at World Series of Fighting 2 on 23 March 2013.

40.

The punch believed to have broken Andrei Arlovski's jaw was landed after the time at which the round should have ended.

41.

Andrei Arlovski next replaced an injured Anthony Johnson against Mike Kyle at WSOF 5 on 14 September 2013.

42.

Andrei Arlovski faced Bellator veteran Mike Hayes at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 9 on 16 December 2012, in Moscow, Russia.

43.

Andrei Arlovski was scheduled to fight two-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.

44.

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

45.

On 24 April 2014, it was confirmed by multiple MMA media websites that Andrei Arlovski had been granted his release from WSOF to return to UFC.

46.

Andrei Arlovski was victorious in his return to the UFC, defeating Schaub via split decision.

47.

Andrei Arlovski faced Travis Browne on 23 May 2015, at UFC 187.

48.

Post-fight, Joe Rogan revealed in the commentary that Andrei Arlovski came close to withdrawing from the fight due to a calf injury in training.

49.

Andrei Arlovski faced Frank Mir on 5 September 2015, at UFC 191, winning by unanimous decision in a fight which many, including UFC president Dana White, thought Mir won.

50.

Andrei Arlovski returned to face Stipe Miocic on 2 January 2016, at UFC 195.

51.

Andrei Arlovski was defeated via TKO in the first round.

52.

Andrei Arlovski faced Alistair Overeem on 8 May 2016, at UFC Fight Night 87.

53.

Andrei Arlovski next faced Josh Barnett on 3 September 2016, at UFC Fight Night 93.

54.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight via rear naked choke submission in the third round, resulting in his first submission loss in his professional MMA career.

55.

Andrei Arlovski faced Francis Ngannou on 28 January 2017 at UFC on Fox 23.

56.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

57.

Andrei Arlovski faced Marcin Tybura on 17 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night 111.

58.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight by unanimous decision.

59.

Andrei Arlovski faced Junior Albini at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Pettis on 11 November 2017 in Norfolk, Virginia.

60.

Andrei Arlovski faced Stefan Struve on 4 March 2018 at UFC 222.

61.

Andrei Arlovski faced Tai Tuivasa at UFC 225 on 9 June 2018.

62.

Andrei Arlovski faced Shamil Abdurakhimov on 15 September 2018 at UFC Fight Night 136.

63.

Andrei Arlovski faced Walt Harris on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232.

64.

Andrei Arlovski faced Augusto Sakai on 27 April 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs Hermansson.

65.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight by a controversial split decision.

66.

Andrei Arlovski won the fight via unanimous decision and set the all-time record for UFC heavyweight victories at 17.

67.

Andrei Arlovski's next fight was with Jairzinho Rozenstruik on 2 November 2019 at UFC 244.

68.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight via knockout in round one.

69.

Andrei Arlovski was scheduled to face Philipe Lins on 2 May 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Weidman.

70.

Andrei Arlovski was expected to face Tanner Boser on 4 October 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs Aldana.

71.

However a sickness with Andrei Arlovski delayed the bout four weeks later to UFC on ESPN: Santos vs Teixeira.

72.

Andrei Arlovski faced Tom Aspinall on 20 February 2021 at UFC Fight Night 185.

73.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight via a rear naked choke submission in round two.

74.

Andrei Arlovski faced Chase Sherman, replacing Parker Porter, on 17 April 2021 at UFC on ESPN 22.

75.

Andrei Arlovski faced Carlos Felipe on 16 October 2021 at UFC Fight Night 195.

76.

Andrei Arlovski faced Jared Vanderaa on February 12,2022, at UFC 271.

77.

Andrei Arlovski faced Jake Collier, replacing Justin Tafa, on April 30,2022, at UFC on ESPN 35.

78.

Andrei Arlovski faced Marcos Rogerio de Lima on October 29,2022, at UFC Fight Night 213.

79.

Andrei Arlovski lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round one.

80.

Andrei Arlovski was scheduled to face Don'Tale Mayes on June 3,2023, at UFC on ESPN 46.

81.

Andrei Arlovski did a public service announcement against dog fighting featuring Maximus and calling it inhumane and torture.

82.

Andrei Arlovski said he chose his nickname The Pitbull for the positive qualities these dogs have.

83.

Andrei Arlovski starred in Universal Soldier: Regeneration in 2009, along with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren.

84.

In 2015, Andrei Arlovski appeared on the TV show Limitless in episode 7 "Brian Finch's Black Op".

85.

Andrei Arlovski played the role of a suspected terrorist hunted by the CIA.

86.

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