Arlovski: I wasn’t upset
Andrei Arlovski: “For me, It’s more important right now to fight as often as possible. I need to pay bills, I need to support my family.”
Although Andrei Arlovski is on the short list of possible title contenders, he was not upset to be asked to fight Frank Mir in the UFC 191 co-main event:
Andrei Arlovski is on one of the heavyweight division’s best tears and has brought his career back from the brink of irrelevance just four years ago.
Because of that – and because of the way he’s done it with back-to-back knockout wins over Antonio Silva and Travis Browne – he was thought to be on the short list for a possible UFC title shot.
That won’t happen for him for a while, though. New champion Fabricio Werdum next will meet former champ Cain Velasquez, who was granted an immediate rematch after his submission loss at UFC 188 in June. And instead, Arlovski (24-10 MMA, 13-4 UFC) will meet fellow former heavyweight champion Frank Mir (18-9 MMA, 16-9 UFC) in the UFC 191 co-main event next month.
But Arlovski said he wasn’t upset when he was asked to fight Mir, even though it would mean a potential title shot would be on hold for a while. Arlovski is ranked No. 5 and Mir No. 11 in the latest NOS Energy Drink MMA heavyweight rankings.
I wasn’t upset, Arlovski on Tuesday told MMAjunkie Radio. For me, it’s more important right now to fight as often as possible. I need to pay bills, I need to support my family. It’s not necessary to have the next fight for the title. Of course, it would be great. But I have to fight another dangerous fighter right now – Frank Mir. I’m very excited about it, and I’m ready to go.