Nine years ago, Andrei Arlovski became the interim UFC heavyweight champion by defeating Tim Sylvia in just 47 seconds. In his next fight, he defended the interim title by knocking out Justin Eilers in just over four minutes.
Then he was promoted to undisputed champion when Frank Mir was unable to defend the title. Arlovski won his first undisputed title defense with a knockout in just 15 seconds.
Arlovski would only have five more fights in the UFC. He lost his title to Sylvia, lost a rematch to Sylvia and then won three fights. The third of those was the final fight on his UFC contract, and following that, he left the UFC.
During his time outside the UFC, Arlovski went 8-5 (1 NC), including the only recorded knockout of Roy Nelson in history. He fought for Strikeforce, Affliction, EliteXC, WSOF, ProElite and ONE Fighting Championship. He went everywhere.
Now he's ready to come back to the UFC, and he'll be facing Brenden Schaub on Saturday. Schaub is the favorite, and should he beat Arlovski, will Arlovski get a second shot?
His opponent, Schaub, is ranked No. 14 in the division and has won two straight fights. He is a solid competitor in the heavyweight division and has taken down some legends in the sport.
Arlovski has won his last two fights and four of his last five. He is one of only five heavyweight champions to defend the UFC title at least twice. He has fought solid competition outside of the Octagon. He was signed specifically for this fight and is not a late-injury replacement.
He will undoubtedly get a second fight in the UFC.
Arlovski has earned his place back in the UFC. The only way that he wouldn't get a second fight is if he gets knocked out in under 30 seconds—and misses weight.
Even if he does lose to Schaub, he will get a second shot, probably on an undercard against a low-level heavyweight.
The division has only 37 fighters and needs some new contenders in the mix. Arlovski could provide a new contender in today's heavyweight division.
