After upset win, Andrei Arlovski is ready for more instructions from Greg Jackson

BRASILIA, Brazil – Andrei Arlovski (23-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) was so happy after knocking Antonio Silva (18-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) out in UFC Fight Night 51’s headliner that he carried MMA coach Greg Jackson around the octagon.

It was, after all, the least he could do after Jackson and partner Mike Winkeljohn guided him on the way to a huge upset of the Brazilian before a hostile crowd in Brasilia, Brazil.

“They pushed me hard,” Arlovski told MMAjunkie after Saturday’s event, which took place at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium and streamed live on UFC Fight Pass. “I just realize that I still have a lot of work and I think when I come back in the gym, Greg is going to give me more instructions.

“But thanks to Antonio for taking this fight. It was nothing personal. I didn’t mean to hurt him, it’s just business.”

Arlovski dismantled the gigantic Brazilian with surgical precision before stopping him with a right hook and series of hammerfists that forced referee intervention just shy of the three-minute mark. The win reversed a 2010 decision loss to Silva that came amid the worst skid of his career, a four-fight losing streak.

“The gameplan was for even one second, don’t stand in one place,” Arlovski said. “I was supposed to move all the time.”

Silva is currently ranked at No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, and now Arlovski stands to break onto the list after many fans wrote him off following a lackluster decision over Brendan Schaub in June at UFC 174.

Asked whether he came into the fight with a chip on his shoulder given the sentiment from his previous fight, Arlovski shrugged.

“My manager Leo repeated to me over and over, ‘One step at a time,'” he said. “It was a very important fight for me; it was my second debut in the UFC, and of course, I was very nervous. One step at a time.”

The former UFC champ, who lost the belt to Tim Sylvia in 2006 and two years later left the promotion for a six-year tour of competitors, leapt on the cage to celebrate after his knockout and was greeted with boos. He screamed an obscenity at the crowd only to be grabbed by a cornerman, who told him to say he loved the crowd. The request was denied, but Arlovski calmed down.

Afterward, he spoke about the experience of fighting on his opponent’s soil and said it gave him a new perspective about feeling out of place.

“When I fought one guy from Europe a few months ago in Belarus, the whole crowd was against him,” he said. “Now I feel what it’s like to have the whole crowd against me. But after the fight, the people were nice, so it’s OK. I feel like in my victory over Antonio, I got something from Brazil.”

He also picked up a huge bargaining chip for his next move, whatever that might be. He declined to say whom he’d like to fight next, deferring to the UFC. But the win could put him on the fast track to a title shot.

“It’s totally up to the UFC,” Arlovski said. “I’m fighting for the UFC, and it’s up to the UFC.”

But when he gets back to Jackson and Winkeljohn’s gym in Albuquerque, N.M., “The Pitbull” is all theirs.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 51, check out the UFC Events section of the site.