Andrei Arlovski (Photo : Photo: Twitter)
Right on the heels of his UFC 191 victory against Frank Mir, all signs point to a heavyweight championship match between Andrei Arlovski and the winner of Fabricio Werdum/Cain Velasquez.
However, UFC President, Dana White, said in the post-fight press conference that wasn't' the case, as the Werdum/Velasquez title rematch wouldn't happen until early 2016.
"Unfortunately, this heavyweight division is tied up right now and the fight won't happen probably until March, the next heavyweight fight," White stated. "We'll see how this thing plays out and we'll go from there."
When asked for a reason, he nonchalantly quipped, "That's when Werdum wants to fight."
The UFC 191 co-main event didn't live up to fans' and critics' expectations, but on many people's eyes, the unanimous decision win was enough to propel Arlovski (25-10-1 NC) for another shot to reclaim the belt he lost to Tim Sylvia almost a decade ago.
"For these guys to still be there doing what they're doing, it's impressive," White said. "I don't think the fight tonight was the fight that everybody expected, but sometimes it doesn't turn out that way."
The Belarusian, has compiled an impressive 6-fight winning streak - four in his UFC return, with notable wins over Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Brendan Schaub. Arlovski also had a memorable, barnburner of a match against friend and former training partner, Travis Browne.
Andrei Arlovski's remarkable resurgence doesn't go unnoticed, as White continued to sing praises to the 36-year-old fighter.
"What Andrei has done coming back into the UFC and going on the run that he's gone on, it's amazing," he claimed. "Obviously, the judges gave him the decision tonight in this fight."
White continued, "His fight against Travis Browne was unbelievable. I don't know if many people picked Arlovski in that fight."
Arlovski's camp will surely have their eyes on a couple of interesting heavyweight matches such as Stipe Miocic (13-2-0) battling Ben Rothwell (35-9-0) next month in Dublin; and the much-anticipated December bout of Junior dos Santos (17-3-0) and Alistair Overeem (40-14- 1 NC).
