Andrei Arlovski's initial exodus from the UFC was unceremonious. The former heavyweight champion was on a three-fight winning streak, but had been buried by the organization, defeating Jake O'Brien via TKO on the prelim card of UFC 82 in his last appearance under the Zuffa umbrella.
He was paid a reported $170,000 for what was essentially a dark match.
"The Pit Bull" spent the next five years chasing pay checks, and struggling with consistency/chin issues in promotions like Affliction, Strikeforce and World Series of Fighting, compiling a mediocre 8-5-1 record.
During a particularly dark period between 2009 and 2011, Arlovski dropped four straight fights, casting doubt on whether or not he should continue competing in a sport where deteriorating skills could lead to serious injury.
"After I lost to (Sergei) Kharitonov, some of my trainers said, 'You should retire. Arlovski's done,'" Arlovski told The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting). "The most embarrassing thing for me was that people that I trusted, they didn't tell me right to my face. They made some gossip behind my back. And I called Greg Jackson, I said, 'Listen, coach, some people said I should retire, that I'm done. What do you think? You think I should retire?'"
Since the loss to Kharitonov, the 35-year-old Belarusian has gone 6-1-1 and is set to return to the Octagon, something he always believed was inevitable.
"I always knew I was going to come back," Arlovski said. "It was sooner or later. I knew I was going to come back to the UFC soon.
"I had some problems a couple of years ago. It wasn't really a good time for me. I had a few losses. It wasn't really smart for me to fight back like a couple of years ago, but I also want to say thank you to all promotions, companies that gave me an opportunity in my career. Right now, I'm just very happy and ready to go. I'm ready to reach all of my goals."
Arlovski will face Brendan Schaub at UFC 174 on June 14 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
