A heavyweight bout between Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett is the main event of the UFC Fight Night in Hamburg on September 3. British tabloid The Sun broke the news early on Monday.
Both fighters have held respective UFC championships in the past. Arlovski has once been one of the most feared heavyweights on the planet. He has won the belt from Tim Sylvia in 2005, and after losing it again to Sylvia one year later, the Belarusian had mixed results and nearly faced retirement with four devastating losses in a row. After moving to Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque in 2011, however, the “Pitbull” managed to reinvigorate his career and even earned himself a spot in a UFC championship eliminator against now-champion Stipe Miocic in January of this year. After losing to Miocic, Arlovski suffered another stoppage defeat against Alistair Overeem in May. He is currently ranked 7 in the UFC’s official rankings.
Number-nine ranked Josh Barnett was one of the first UFC champions ever and has won the heavyweight belt from Randy Couture in 2002. His real claim to fame began after he left the UFC and competed in the now-defunct Japanese Pride organization, where he had memorable battles with the likes of Mirko Cro Cop or Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. Barnett returned to the UFC in 2013 and has two out of four fights since. In his last fight in January, the “Warmaster” had to tap out due to a gogo choke submission, courtesy of Ben Rothwell.
Barnett and Arlovski were earlier booked to compete at Affliction about 8 years ago, but the bout didn’t push through and the promotion ceased operations.
UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett takes place in Hamburg, Germany’s Barclaycard Arena on September 3. Also on the card is a light-heavyweight bout between Ryan Bader and Ilir Latifi.