
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.”
About the author