Andrei Arlovski

D.O.B.: 02/04/1979
Weight: 238lb/108kg
Height: 6'3"
Fighting style: Sambo, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
MMA Record: 12 - 5 - 0
Fighting out of: Chicago, Illinois

At the age of 19, Arlovski began his professional MMA career at the Mix Fight M-1 in St Petersburg, Russia in April 1999. It was a fairly inauspicious start, losing by KO to the un-heralded Viacheslav Datsik. Not deterred, Arlovski returned in 2000 to M-1 at the European Championships, taking the heavyweight crown with a submission victory and a knock-out victory. Arlovski made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 28: High Stakes, defeating Aaron Brink by submission. He was thrown in against top opposition early on in his UFC career, taking tough losses against Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo. Despite those early defeats, big wins over Ian Freeman and Vladimir Matyushenko propelled Arlovski back into the UFC elite. The motorcycle accident injury suffered by UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in 2004 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.

On February 5, 2005 at UFC 51, Arlovski would face the previous heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia. Arlovski landing a right hand at UFC 51The two competitors were well known for their hard hitting style, with Sylvia having won eight straight matches prior to facing Mir all through his striking prowess. As soon as the fight began, Arlovski showed greater mobility and accuracy when striking. He connected with an overhand right and dropped Sylvia, following up with an ankle lock on the ground that forced Sylvia to tap out at 47 seconds of the first round. Arlovski made a subsequent defense of the interim title in June, when his opponent Justin Eilers suffered a freak injury to his anterior cruciate ligament.

On August 12, 2005, the UFC announced that it now recognized Arlovski as the Heavyweight Champion outright, as Mir had not fully rehabilitated from his motorcylce accident. The first defense of the title took place on October 7 of that same year at UFC 55, with Arlovski knocking out top contender Paul Buentello in 15 seconds of the opening round. In a rematch with Tim Sylvia on April 15, 2006, Arlovski knocked Sylvia down with a right hand punch early in the first round. Sylvia was able to protect himself and immediately get up. While Arlovski tried to finish Sylvia with a right lead, Sylvia countered with a short right uppercut to the chin, knocking out Arlovski. Sylvia followed up with strikes 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 July 8, 2006 at UFC 61: Bitter Rivals. In what turned out to be a 5 round battle of attrition, neither fighter was able to knock out the other, or even land any truly significant blows. In the end Sylvia won the fight by decision. It was later discovered that Arlovski had actually been significantly injured by a checked leg kick sometime in the second period which left him unable to throw kicks of his own or make any takedown attempts. Arlovski did not report his injury during the fight, as is required by UFC rules; indeed, the injury may never have been known except that it was leaked that Arlovski was having an MRI done on his leg a week after the fight. The injury caused his ankle and knee on his left leg to swell up to about four times its normal size. When confronted by a reporter about the MRI, Arlovski avoided responding directly and would only say "I do not want to talk about my injuries or look for any other excuses." In his most recent fight, Arlovski soundly defeated Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz at UFC 66 on December 30, 2006 by knockout in the first round.