This Saturday, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will face Stipe Miocic at UFC 195 and could emerge as the next challenger for the UFC title.
In the first episode of UFC 195 Embedded, the 36-year old Belarusian went for a walk through the snowy landscape of his adopted new home of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was there where he recalled how he made it this far again, after facing retirement only four years ago. It was around the time that Greg Jackson invited him to his camp, when almost everyone else thought he was finished.
“Greg Jackson, he gave me hope you know,” Arlovski said. “He told me listen, you’re absolutely not done yet. You have a lot of work to do. If you want to start everything from the beginning, just come to Albuquerque. Come to my clinic. He’s a very smart guy and he’s a very educated coach, and I enjoy working with him.
“Definitely I made the right choice, I made the right decision. And now I’m in Albuquerque, in the right place, with the right people. I still have fire in my eyes and I’m sure I’ll have a few more years.”
Arlovski started working full-time with Jackson in 2011 following a four-fight losing streak, and has looked completely reinvented since. Ten wins in twelve fights later, Arlovski is back in the elite of the UFC’s heavyweight division again, currently placed number two in the UFC’s official rankings, right behind number-one contender Cain Velasquez.
On January 2, he can likely earn another shot at the title with a win over Stipe Miocic. Both men square off on the main card of UFC 195 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.