Arlovski rooting for Velasquez to retain title: It is a ‘very interesting fight for me’

Saturday night's UFC 188 fight card in Mexico City will feature the long-awaited return of heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez as he attempt to unify…

By: Karim Zidan | 8 years ago
Arlovski rooting for Velasquez to retain title: It is a ‘very interesting fight for me’
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Saturday night’s UFC 188 fight card in Mexico City will feature the long-awaited return of heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez as he attempt to unify the division’s multiple titles when he faces interim champ Fabricio Werdum in the main event of the evening. Watching eagerly from cage side will be a slew of other heavyweight contenders, including former champions Junior dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski.

While dos Santos has alternated between wins and losses for the past three years, Arlovski has embarked on a career resurgence that saw him compile a five-fight win streak, including a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate against Travis Browne last month at UFC 187.

Although the recent win is arguably enough momentum for Arlovski to call for a title shot, he refuses to follow in other fighters’ footsteps and demand match-ups following big wins.

“I don’t want to be like pretty much all fighters, just pull some names and that is it. So it is up to the UFC. If they decide to put me against the winner of UFC 188, it would be great. If I have to fight more, I will fight more. It’s ok.”

Asked about his preference in the UFC 188 title fight, Arlovski revealed that he would root for Velasquez, whom he considers to be a “good guy.”

“I hope that Cain [Velasquez] will still be champion. Whoever wins will be interesting for the UFC. If Werdum wins, they can do rematch with Cain. If Cain wins, it will be a very interesting fight for me.”

“I like Cain. He is a good guy.”

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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