From January 2009 through February 2011, Andrei Arlovski lost four consecutive fights to Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Sergei Kharitonov. Fans and fellow fights thought Arlovski had peaked and should retire from the sport.
The former UFC heavyweight champion went on a resurgence, going 10-1-1 in his next 12 fights. "The Pitbull" was on the verge of fighting for a chance to reclaim his title. But, Arlovski his hit the skids once again losing three consecutive fights to current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, UFC 203 title challenger Alistair Overeem and most recently, a loss to former heavyweight champ Josh Barnett last Saturday at UFC Fight Night 93.
The Greg Jackson trained fighter is on the wrong side of 30 (Arlovski is 37) and has a lot of tread on his tires. The talk of retirement is again looming over his head.
Arlovski though took positives out of the loss. He looked at who he has lost to and how he lost these fights during this losing streak. Hanging up the gloves isn't an option for the veteran.
?He was the better man tonight. Yeah, I lost my third fight (in a row), and now I?m going to take some time off and I?m going to come back stronger. At least he didn?t knock me out ? he choked me. He has great wrestling skills, so he was the better man today. I?m still top 10, so it?s totally up to my managers what?s next for me, and it?s also up to the UFC.
"It is what it is, like I said, Josh was the better man tonight," Arlovski said during the post-fight press conference. "My coaches (and I), we?re going to see what?s going wrong with my camp and we?re going to move forward. I?m still top 10 and I lost to two guys who are going to fight (at UFC 203) for the title. I still have fire in my eyes, so I?m ready to go."
Arlovski didn't say who he wanted to face next or when he would like to fight again.