Arlovski not content with being in Fedor’s shadow

Published on: 17th December, 2008

Arlovski not content with being in Fedor's shadow  | read this item

Arlovski wont settle for Fedor’s shadow, thinks his Sambo loss is in his head.

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has been preparing hard for his bout against Fedor Emelianenko who is considered to be the best MMA fighter in the world right now. As you have seen in his last few videos released from his website he has been training on his Boxing with Freddie Roach, studying Fedor’s previous fights against Hong Man Choi and his former adversary Tim Sylvia. Arlovski appears as if he has really picked up his training and game planning to another level from what we have seen in those videos. Arlovski knows that this is his moment to defeat the “Last Emperor” and he has been waiting for this moment since he was fighting in the UFC.

Arlovski spoke to MMAWeekly.com about the time he was contacted by Fedor’s Manager Vadim Finkelstein about joining their training time.

“Vadim contacted me and said, ‘I want you to be a member of my team; train with Fedor,’” Arlovski told MMAWeekly.com in an exclusive video interview.

Arlovski turned down the chance to train with Fedor at the time because he did not want to play “second fiddle” to Fedor, especially given the fact that he could potentially fight him down the line.

“I said, ‘First of all, I have a lot of ambitions, and maybe one day I will fight Fedor and I don’t want to be his shadow,’ (like) most guys in his heavyweight camp,” he continued. “I said, ‘no thank you.’”

It appears that Arlovski made the right decision, if they two would have become training partners there is a good chance they would never be fighting at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” card against one another.

Many fans who have followed the career of the two Heavyweight fighters feel that Arlovski may be just another notch on Fedor’s belt, others feel that he is Fedor’s biggest threat to date. Me personally I feel he does pose a credible threat to Fedor especially given the fact he is training with Freddie Roach, who is one of the best Boxing trainers in the world.

Fedor punches Sylvia

I would not be surprised if Freddie Roach has Arlovski specifically training for Fedor’s awkward punching style.If you look at most fighters they usually throw their shoulders to power their punches and only throw their hips into the punch if they are throwing a hook. Fedor uses his hips to generate all of his shots and than snaps them straight or in hooking fashion at the last minute. It makes Fedor’s punches even harder to react to in the appropriate fashion, look at Sylvia he looked like a “Deer in Headlights”at Affliction “Banned ‘. Thats not to knock Sylvia who has good Boxing ability, that would be hard for anyone to pick up without preparing for it. Arlovski is a counter puncher at heart which is why his fight with Fabricio Werdum who was not throwing an active jab or being aggressive was so boring. Arlovski’s ability to time Fedor’s punches at their peak may be the “X factor” in their fight at “Day of Reckoning ‘.

Even if Arlovski does prepare his best for Fedor’s awkward punching style, it would be a disservice to think it would be the only thing Fedor uses to win. His ground game is probably the deadliest in all of MMA, even current interim UFC Heavyweight champion Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira could not submit him in their three fights. Andrei Arlovski feels that Fedor’s recent loss in Sambo (his first in eight years) may also play a factor in that aspect of their fight.

“After his loss in the Sambo tournament, I think he’s messed up a little bit,” Arlovski said. “He says it’s not important, but c’mon, let’s be serious. He was unbeatable, like, five years, six years in Sambo, and he’s not beatable in MMA. When you lose something, of course it’s (expletive) important. For me, it’s really hard to believe that he doesn’t care about it. Of course he cares. He’s not like 100 percent sure of himself.”

Arlovski can learn from his bout with Nelson

In two of Arlovski’s recent fights he has faced problems on the ground against Roy Nelson and Mauricio ”Pe De Pano” Cruz. In his fight with Cruz the referee stopped the action to warn Arlovski of illegal kicks and probably saved him from being submitted. Against Roy Nelson the referee arguably may have also saved Arlovski as well. Expect that Arlovski and Fedor at “Day of Reckoning” will not be an easy win for either fighter, their talent level is too close for either to have an easy win. There will be no lucky calls in his favor against Fedor, he will need to be at his best on the ground.

Arlovski himself has competed in Sambo tournaments when he was younger, but has not been as active in their tournaments and competitions like Fedor. Arlovski has said in past interviews that he won Sambo tournaments as a teenager, but will need to be at his best on the ground if he expects to defeat Fedor.

 Narcisist is the Co-owner of UR Dirt and is the designer, editor and author. URDirt.com is a MMA blog that covers the UFC, WEC, StrikeForce, DREAM and several other Mixed Martial Art promotions. Read more from this author

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