Arlovsky Aims To Be A Champion Again
By BOB EMANUEL JR. | Scripps Howard News Service
After four consecutive losses from January 2009 through February 2011, former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovsky’s career was surrounded in uncertainty. Many thought retirement was his immediate future.
“I just had some rough times,” Arlovsky said. “Some of my trainers told me I should retire. I gave a call to (mixed martial arts trainer/coach) Greg Jackson and asked his opinion (whether) I should retire or not. He said absolutely not. He gave me hope.”
Arlovsky altered his training and has not lost since. He won four of his five fights, with his other fight ending in a no contest.
On Saturday, Arlovsky could make his biggest statement since the slump when he faces Anthony Johnson in the main event of the World Series of Fighting 2 at the Ovation Hall at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. It will air live on the NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. HST.
“Of course, I want to be on the top of the world again, and I want to be champion again,” Arlovsky said. “Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll go back to the UFC, but for now I’m fighting for the World Series of Fighting.”
The rest of the televised card matches bantamweights Marlon Moraes vs. Tyson Nam, middleweights Dave Branch vs. Paulo Filho, welterweights Josh Burkman vs. Aaron Simpson and lightweights Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Gaethje.
The preliminaries, on www.sherdog.com at 6 p.m. EDT/3 p.m. PDT, include: featherweights Waylon Lowe vs. Cameron Dollar; featherweights Rick Glenn vs. Alexandre Pimentel; welterweights Kris McCray vs. Danillo Villefort;welterweights Igor Gracie vs. Richard Patishnock; and lightweights Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Chris Wade.
