Andrei
Arlovski is set to return to action for the first time since
parting ways with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship last year.
Advertisement
Arlovski will square off against Terrance
Hodges under the Dirty Boxing banner on March 22 at the Regatta
Harbour in Miami, the promotion announced Wednesday. DBX 1 is
expected to be headlined by a clash between Yoel Romeo and Ras Hylton.
DBX uses four-ounce gloves, with elbows and “conditional
ground-and-pound” allowed.
A former heavyweight champion, Arlovski fulfilled his last UFC
contract with a split-decision loss against Martin
Buday at UFC 303 this past July. He was also drafted by the Los
Angeles team in the fledgling Global Fight League earlier this
year, but the promotion has yet to formally confirm any dates or
locations for upcoming events.
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.
The 41-year-old Hodges owns a 2-7 mark in MMA, with his last
appearance coming in a unanimous decision loss to Mohammad Usman at
Titan FC 63 in August 2020. Hodges has also competed in boxing,
muay thai and kickboxing.