The Pitbull- Ready to Bite?

The Pitbull is having a rough time of things these days. I, of course, am not talking about Michael Vick’s lovable buddies but former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski.
He was awarded a shot at the UFC’s Interim Heavyweight title in 2005 when then-champ Frank Mir was injured in a motorcycle accident. Arlovski beat Tim Sylvia, who had then only lost one fight in his career, to take the Interim Heavyweight Championship. He then defended it in consecutive bouts, knocking out Paul Buentello before the fight reached the 30 second mark.
He was promoted to Undisputed Heavyweight Champion in late 2005 after Frank Mir was unable to recover in time to defend his title. Shortly after, he lost a rematch and rubber match to Sylvia, relinquishing his title.
The former champ is currently riding a three-fight losing streak. Fans of The Pitbull shouldn’t worry because all of his last three opponents are at the top of the sport. The first loss came as a knockout from Fedor Emelianenko, a fight in which Arlovski broke out to an early lead. He eventually succumbed to the intense pressure of Fedor and was knocked out in one of the most memorable finishes in MMA.
The next, against the behemoth Brett Rogers, ended in an embarrassing TKO loss where Arlovski only landed three total strikes before being pounded to the mat. The knockout was the sixth that Arlovski has suffered in his career. At only 32, Arlovski’s biggest growing concern is just to stay conscious.
The Pitbull did just that in his latest fight, but lost by unanimous decision to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Arlovski showed that he had a stout chin in the bout as he absorbed knockout blow after knockout blow without going out.
While Arlovski has come across some tough times, he is set to face off with Sergei Kharitonov in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament, which contains some of the sport’s elite. Simply the fact that he was selected, alongside Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett, and current champ, Alistair Overeem, is a nod to his skill in itself.
Many argue that this tournament is set up simply to force a rematch between Fedor and Werdum, or a showdown between Fedor and Overeem. I am one of the many who agree with this view but I also think it was set up to offer a chance for some older names to renew their careers. Josh Barnett, who won the UFC Heavyweight crown in 2002, fell from grace after testing positive for steroids several times throughout his career. Brett Rogers was on a hot streak before he lost back-to-back title shots for two different organizations. Then, there is Arlovski to consider.
Andrei Arlovski has the easiest route to the championship in the upcoming tournament. While no path in such a start studded tournament can be called “easy,” Arlovski faces the most unknown name in the field in Kharitonov, and is on track to face the winner of Barnett vs. Rogers.
An overall win in this tournament would give the winner the most prestige and publicity since the Grand Prix days of Pride. Even if Arlovski can’t manage to win it all, getting to the final would be enough to resurrect his illustrious career. If he loses in the final to Overeem or Fedor, he wouldn’t lose any respect because, let’s face it: who can legitimately beat these two monsters?
If Arlovski gets to the final Against Silva, or Werdum, he has a real shot to win as he has already beaten Werdum and went three hard rounds with Silva. It is a very real possibility that if Fedor and Overeem get upset, Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski could be the Heavyweight Champion once again.