I tried to do what Conor McGregor and Anderson Silva is doing right now - Andrei Arlovski explains why he wouldn't focus on two sports at once
Andrei Arlovski will take on Marcos Rogério de Lima in a heavyweight clash at the prelims of the UFC Fight Night event next weekend. Having spent over two decades in the UFC, 'The Pitbull' was asked if he has future plans of venturing into pro wrestling like his American Top Team coach Dan Lambert.
The idea of getting his joints iced after every show, especially post-retirement from MMA, doesn't seem appealing to Arlovski. The 43-year-old also claims to have already tried his hand at juggling between the two disciplines, with no success.
According to Arlovski, he has already tried to fight in boxing and MMA simultaneously, like Conor McGregor and Anderson Silva. However, 'The Pitbull' shifted his focus back solely to MMA after it didn't work out. Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw, Arlovski said:
"Back in 2009 I tried to be...At that time what doing right now McGregor, Silva, boxing matches. And back then 13 years ago same as De La Hoya. I have one ass but I want to sit on two chairs same time. MMA and Boxing. This s**t doesn't work. I took a lesson from this and I felt, I have to focus on my MMA career. On my UFC career. Period."
Watch Andrei Arlovski's comments at the 4:50 mark of the video below:
Conor McGregor suffered a 10th round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in 2017, which was the only time 'Notorious' entered the boxing ring. Meanwhile, the resurgent boxer in Anderson Silva has already scored a decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and knocked out fellow veteran Tito Ortiz after parting ways with the UFC.
'The Spider' is scheduled to meet Jake Paul next on October 29.
Andrei Arlovski has previously stated that his focus on boxing was responsible for his first-round KO loss to the legendary Fedor Emelinenko back in 2009. 'The Pitbull' was in the process of signing a boxing deal with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions at the time.
During the fight, Emelianenko countered his flying knee with a right hand, knocking his lights out in the opening frame. Arlovski is currently riding an impressive four-fight win streak going into his upcoming clash against 'Pezao', who will look to bounce back from a loss.
Andrei Arlovski believes Glover Teixeira losing the belt "was a mistake"
Like Andrei Arlovski, another fighter thriving in their 40s is former light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. Teixeira defeated Jan Blachowicz via second-round submission at UFC 267, to be crowned the champion two days after his 40th birthday.
However, the Brazilian has since lost the strap to Jiri Prochazka after getting submitted in the final seconds of an iconic war that he was winning on the scorecards. According to Arlovski, Teixeira's loss to 'Denisa' was a mistake as he was essentially winning the fight.
'The Pitbull' wished his fellow veteran luck in his upcoming rematch against Prochazka, scheduled for UFC 282 in December. Asked if Teixeira inspired him, Andrei Arlovski told Sportskeeda MMA:
"Of course and I wish him the best and good luck on his upcoming rematch against current champion. I think it was mistake, he was shocked in the last f***ing seconds, he was winning whole fight."
Don't expect to see Jon Jones this year. UFC just announced that Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira 2 will headline #UFC282 on Dec. 10 https://t.co/uMGJPig1i8
Viewers in India can watch the LIVE coverage of UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen on SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 4:30 AM IST on October 30, 2022.