5 Things To Know About Andrei Arlovski

UFC heavyweight contender Andrei Arlovski will be returning to the Octagon this weekend at the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Teixeira. He will go up against fellow heavyweight Tanner Boser. With his last fight coming back in May, Arlovski will try to string together a series of wins.

Andrei Arlovski has been with the UFC for a long time and made his promotional debut at UFC 28 in 2000. He held the UFC heavyweight title back in the day and currently holds a record of 29-19-0. With a bout approaching, here are a few lesser-known facts about the former UFC heavyweight champion.

The reason behind his career choice

Arlovski was born in Byelorussian SSR and had a pretty rough childhood. He faced several issues with bullies and peers picking on him. At 14, in an attempt to outdo his bullies, Arlovski began lifting weights to put on some muscle.

Seeing no results in the area of self-defense, he decided to take up martial arts when he was 16. He began training in Sambo, Judo, and Kickboxing. He also enrolled himself in the police academy in Minsk, which combined his love for martial arts and his interest in the law enforcement field.

Career before the UFC

With a steady growth of interest in the martial arts, Arlovski began competing professionally. He went to win the European Youth Sambo Championship and the World Youth Championship. He was also crowned as the first Master of Sports and then the International Master of Sports.

This is when his interest peaked, and he began studying the field of kickboxing. Furthermore, he began to work on his striking skills to complement his already present grappling skills. In 2000, before shifting to the UFC, he picked up the European Championship’s heavyweight title.

Andrei Arlovski has Incomparable UFC stats

Andrei Arlovski ranks first in total fight time in the heavyweight division clocking in a whopping 4:18:42. He also holds the record for the most wins (18) by an individual fighter in the heavyweight division of the UFC.

He also has secured the third fastest title defense when he knocked out Paul Buentello in just 15 seconds at UFC 55.

Andrei Arlovski has fought all over the world

The 41-year-old has fought in 10 different countries in a career that is still going on. The countries that he has fought include the United States, Russia, Singapore, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, Belarus, Philippines, and England. His passport will give certain fighters some major inferiority complex.

Andrei Arlovski’s brief film career

A lesser-known fact about this former UFC heavyweight champion is that he also dipped his feet in Hollywood! He made his movie debut in ‘8 of Diamonds’ in 2006. In 2009, he played the role of the main antagonist in the movie ‘Universal Soldier: Regeneration’.

Not only this, but he was also a part of the cast for the final installment of the movie Universal Soldier series. He featured in ‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’. He also participated in television shows like ‘Limitless’ and was a part of MTV’s ‘Bully Beatdown’.

With a career that has spanned over two decades and 10 countries, how much more do you think Andrei Arlovski has got left in the tank?