Andrei Arlovski
It was a surprise when former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski left the promotion in 2008, despite being on a three-fight winning streak.
For a time Arlovski did well, KO’ing Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson in Affliction and Elite: XC, but then he suffered a particularly brutal first round knockout to Fedor Emelianenko in 2009.
That signalled the start of a dark period for ‘The Pitbull’ as he’d sign for Strikeforce and get TKO’d by Brett Rogers, KO’d by Sergei Kharitonov and decisioned by Antonio Silva.
The feeling was that Arlovski’s chin was now shot, but he never entertained calls to retire.
Instead, Arlovski went on to defy the critics by going unbeaten in his next five fights, and though Anthony Johnson would then defeat him, he’d have to take him to a decision, despite breaking Arlovski’s jaw in the opening round.
Unphased, Arlovski earned two more victories to fight his way back into the UFC after a seven year absence, and better yet he’d win his next four fights in a row against Brendan Schaub, Antonio Silva, Travis Browne and Frank Mir.
Arlovski’s form has dipped since then, but at 40-years-old his desire to compete still burns bright, and while he’s lost more fights than he’s won, he’s not been stopped in his last eight Octagon outings.
