UFC iron man Arlovski back in Las Vegas for one more fight with no plans to stop

By Case Keefer (contact)

Saturday, June 29, 2024 | 2 a.m.

Andrei Arlovski has long established himself as one of the most prolific fighters in the history of top-level mixed martial arts.

The 45-year-old heavyweight originally from Belarus will compete in his 60^th professional bout today on the preliminary card of UFC 303 against Martin Buday, a 33-year-old Slovakian, at T-Mobile Arena. The fight will also mark Arlovski’s 42^nd in the octagon, second all-time behind only lightweight Jim Miller’s 44 appearances.

That doesn’t mean all the fights bleed together and the former UFC champion Arlovski struggles to differentiate them.

On the contrary, throw out an opponent and he’ll more than likely not only recall details from the fight but also the date and how he felt at the time.

For instance, what was his first Las Vegas fight? An eventual third-round TKO loss to Pedro Rizzo on March 22, 2002, at MGM Grand Garden Arena while he was still primarily training in Hungary and Poland.     

“I had never seen anything like it, the big, big buildings,” Arlovski said of his first impressions of the Fight Capital of the World. “I remember we kept walking every night (on the Strip) and would see the fountains. It was impressive.”

The spectacle of a big fight night and the thrill of being one of the attractions still resonate with Arlovski. It’s a big part of why he keeps fighting despite every other fighter from his generation having long since moved on.

There’s been speculation that today’s fight against Buday could be Arlovski’s last salvo in the octagon.

From a positive perspective, there might not be a better way to go out than as part one of the UFC’s biggest cards of the year, the annual capper of International Fight Week. Arlovski is on a pay-per-view event for the first time in his last six fights, his last a win over Jared Vanderaa at UFC 271 in February 2022.

On the less rosy side, Arlovski has lost three straight and risks getting cut from the promotion with another defeat.   

But he holds no trepidation and says he’s not ready to step away from MMA yet regardless of what happens against Buday.  

“Hopefully, for a couple more years, I’ll be (fighting),” he said. “If not in the UFC, then somewhere else.”

Arlovski had already made it into the UFC before any other fighters on the UFC 303 card had even started fighting professionally. His origins in the promotion predate every single fighter on the UFC roster and even President Dana White, who was part of the group that bought the fight company before UFC 30 in February 2001.

Arlovski had debuted in the octagon four months earlier, submitting Aaron Brink in the first round at UFC 28.

“It’s amazing how it was in the beginning,” Arlovski said. “The events were every three or four months. Now there are events every week and the UFC is a mainstream sport, so I’m definitely super happy of what I’ve witnessed with the growth and popularity.”

Arlovski would probably fight on every card if he was allowed. He referred to the layoff before facing Buday as “a long time” even though his last fight was in January — a unanimous-decision loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

Most fighters say they love competing, but Arlovski has shown it with a consistent schedule for 25 straight years dating back to his MMA debut in April 1999 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

“It’s just remembering what you want every single day when you’re in camp,” Arlovski said of what keeps him motivated. “I remember what I want and why I’m doing this.”

Those driving forces have changed drastically over the years. Initially, it was just to be the best — a dream he realized on Feb. 5, 2005, at Mandalay Bay Events Center when he submitted Tim Sylvia at UFC 51 to win the title.

That edges a heavyweight record 15-second knockout of Paul Buentello — he argues it was actually 13 seconds and the result should be changed — he notched eight months later at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut as Arlovski’s favorite moment in his career.     

But the records and achievements mean less now as Arlovski says he’s more motivated to fight as a way to provide for his wife and three children.

“It’s different priorities for me,” Arlovski said. “When I was in my 20s, I could party two days in a row and fight but now I choose what’s most important to me.”

Arlovski credits his longevity to steadfast discipline over the last 15 years, which he may have relatively lacked earlier in his career. He now focuses as much on nutrition and recovery as training, something he’s never slacked on.

He’s always sought to improve his preparation, initially moving from Europe to Chicago during his prime for better training opportunities. Then, after a string of losses in major promotions outside the UFC like Strikeforce beginning in 2009, Arlovski started traveling to Albuquerque, N.M. to work out at Jackson Wink MMA, then considered the top gym in the sport.  

After another rough patch, Arlovski and his family moved to South Florida in 2017 so he could train at American Top Team — one of the most successful gyms over the last several years.

Arlovski has bounced back from losing streaks arguably more than anyone in UFC history and believes he can do it once again before he retires. He knows it won’t be easy today as Buday is also coming off a loss — via knockout to Shamil Gaziev at UFC 296 in December — he says refocused his training efforts.

Buday has started traveling more for access to better training partners including most notably Jiri Prochazka, who challenges Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title in UFC 303’s main event.

Arlovski admitted that he used to be bothered by fans calling on him to retire and took satisfaction out of proving them wrong with win streaks. But that’s not much of a factor to him anymore.

He’s stuck around the UFC longer than anyone because of his family, and for his love of the sport.

“It’s a fighting life,” Arlovski said. “A lot of people — other fighters, professional athletes — end up done after five, 10 seasons but thank God I’m still fighting. I’m not going to be done any time soon.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or