It’s the end of an era in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight division.
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Former champion Andrei
Arlovski will not return to the Las Vegas-based promotion
following his split-decision defeat against Martin
Buday at UFC 303
on Saturday night. Arlovski confirmed the news via social media
following an initial report from Ariel Helwani. The 45-year-old Arlovski
completed his UFC deal on Saturday and is expected to sign
elsewhere. He lost his last four Octagon appearances.
UFC CEO Dana White also stated that it was Arlovski’s last fight
with the organization during the UFC 303 post-fight press
conference.
“My chapter in the UFC is closed, but my book is not finished yet,”
Arlovski wrote on Instagram.
Arlovski initially rose to prominence during his first UFC stint
from 2000 to 2008, when he captured heavyweight gold and had a
memorable trilogy with Tim Sylvia.
“The Pit Bull” claimed the title with a 47-second submission of
Sylvia at UFC 51 and defended the belt twice with first-round
stoppages of Justin
Eilers and Paul
Buentello. He relinquished the belt in a rematch against Sylvia
at UFC 59 and dropped a five-round verdict in their third meeting
at UFC 61.
The Belarusian fought for multiple organizations outside the UFC
from 2008 to 2013, including Affliction,
EliteXC,
Strikeforce
and
World Series of Fighting. While Arlovski wouldn’t challenge for
the heavyweight title again in the UFC, he authored a couple
lengthy winning streaks during a second stint that lasted a decade.
The
American Top Team product was able to remain competitive in
fights into his 40s, even winning six of seven UFC appearances from
May 2020 to April 2022.
Arlovski exits the UFC with the second most fights (42) and
victories (23) in promotion history. Additionally, his 11 finishes
are tied for No. 3 at all-time at heavyweight, his 10 knockdowns
are tied for second and his 1,585 significant strikes landed are
No. 1. He also has the most fight time among all heavyweight by a
considerable margin with 6:49:58.