Top 10 best Eastern European fighters in MMA history

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INGLEWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 28: Andrei Arlovski of Belarus poses on the scale during the UFC 232 weigh-in inside The Forum on December 28, 2018, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) /

6. Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski

Every time people seem to count Andre Arlovski out and believe his career is over, he digs deep and emerges as a contender once again. A pretty remarkable feat considering the fighter from Belarus burst onto the biggest stage back at UFC 28 in 2000. Since the then 21-year-old fighter made his UFC debut, he has won 16 bouts in the UFC heavyweight division which is a record, while winning nine of them by way of knockout, another UFC heavyweight division record.

Arlovski reached the pinnacle of the sport back in UFC 51, when he submitted former champion, Tim Sylvia, to win the UFC interim heavyweight title. After that, he defended the title against Justin Eilers at UFC 53, smashing the challenger in the opening round. When it was determined that champion, Frank Mir would not be able to recover from a motorcycle accident in a reasonable time to defend the belt, Mir was stripped and Arlovski was crowned the undisputed champion. Arlovski would successfully defend that belt by knocking out Paul Buentello in just 15 seconds at UFC 55.

Arlovski would eventually lose the belt back to Sylvia and then leave the organization just three fights later. Arlovski would have some mixed results fighting outside of the UFC in Affliction, Elite XC, One Championship, StrikeForce, and the WSOF. The Jackson/Winkeljohn team member would drop four straight bouts during a two year stretch from 2009 to 2011, which left many to believe he was done. However, he showed his resilience by winning 10 out of his next 11 fights and being brought back into the UFC, where he won four in a row and established himself as a contender once again.

During his legendary career, Arlovski has defeated the likes of Ian Freeman, Vladimir Matyushenko, Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell, Roy Nelson, Brendan Schaub, Antonio “Big Foot” Silva, Travis Browne, Frank Mir, and Stefan Struve.

While it appears the 40-year-old won’t win the UFC title again, don’t count him out. He might surprise us once again.

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