Andre Arlovski was born in 1979 in Minsk, Belarus. In his early teenage years Andrei was often a victim of bullies. At the tender age of 14 years old, he started to lift weights in order to be able to deal with the bullying. It wasn’t until he was 18 that he took up martial arts.
Andrei “The Pit bull” Arlovski, joined the Police Academy in Minsk. Here he took the police defense course of Sambo. Andrei excelled at Sambo, winning numerous titles. These included winning both EYSC (European Youth Sambo Championships) and the World Youth Championships in 1999. In addition to the latter, in the next few years he also won second place in the Sambo World Cup and another second place in the Sambo World Championships. Arlovski began taking a greater interest in other martial arts such as Muay Thai and Boxing.
Andrei Arlovski began his mixed martial arts career in 1999 in Russia. The tournament was called Mix Fight M1 and was held in ST Petersburg, Russia. Unfortunately for Andrei he lost by a KO to an unknown Viacheslav Datsik. However the following year in February of 2000, Arlovski returned to win M-1 European Championships.
Due to the growth in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Arlovski decided to compete in this premier mixed martial arts tournament. He made his successful debut in UFC 28 by beating Aaron Brink through a submission victory. However, some big losses followed against top MMA fighters such as Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo. Despite these loses Andrei Arlovski was propelled back into the limelight with high profile victories over Ian Freeman and the Russian sensation Vladimir Matyushenko. These victories allowed Arlovsi to be considered for world title contention.
Andrei “The Pit bull” Arlovski fought for the UFC heavy weight title (Interim) In UFC 51 against Tim Sylvia. He won that fight through a submission. Later on he would go on to have a re-match against Tim Sylvia on April 26th 2006th and lose through a knockout. A third fight would be scheduled which Andrei would also lose through a point’s decision.
All in all, Andrei Arlovski s a competent MMA fighter with effective striking skill and an effective ground game.
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