He's back!!!

He's baaaaack...

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski will return to the sport of mixed martial arts after finalizing a 16-month, multi-fight contract with the San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion. "The Pitbull" confirmed the signing via his official website earlier today.

Arlovski is no stranger to Strikeforce audiences. He accepted a short-notice bout against heavyweight wrecking ball Brett Rogers at the "Lawler vs. Shields" event last June in an appearance sponsored by Affliction.

It didn’t last very long.

Despite entering the cage as a heavy favorite -- Arlovski was dropped just 22 seconds into the fight by an aggressive and hard-hitting Rogers, handing the Belarusian his second straight defeat via first round knockout.

Prior to stepping inside the cage with "The Grim," Arlovski came up short against WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko in their world title fight back on Jan. 24, 2009.



Following the loss to Rogers, Affliction opted not to renew Arlovski's contract, allowing the talented striker to seek alternate endeavors both in and out of MMA.

He finally had the chance to pursue his professional boxing career on the undercard of the Victor Ortiz vs. Marcos Maidana fight on HBO at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., back on June 27.

Unfortunately the appearance was put on pause when Arlovski was hit with a medical suspension after the loss to Rogers, which meant that he wouldn't be ready in time for fight night.

After a fair amount of time on the sidelines, "The Pitbull" got a taste of the sweet science last Saturday night (Feb. 27), mixing it up with former heavyweight contender Fres Oquendo in Miami for “The Consequences Charity” in a four round exhibition boxing match.

Now he's recommitted himself to the sport that made him famous. And Sherdog.com reports that he could make his return against Antonio "Junior" Silva as early as May 15 in St. Louis; however, nothing is official at this time.

Regardless of who he faces, it's going to bolster a very talented roster of 265-pound fighters. And it may lessen the blow of Fedor Emelianenko jumping ship if the reports of him seeking employment elsewhere turn out to be true.

Does the talented but hot-and-cold Arlovski still have the goods to be a force in the Strikeforce heavyweight

Regardless of who he faces, it's going to bolster a very talented roster of 265-pound fighters. And it may lessen the blow of Fedor Emelianenko jumping ship if the reports of him seeking employment elsewhere turn out to be true.

good news, been waitin for his return, but, what reports are these about fedor?

Reports that Strikeforce have broken terms and conditions of the contract. And now M-1 and Strikeforce have to reach a new deal.


(M-1 want more money than what Strikeforce want and can afford to give them).

not more bullshit from m-1 again

Arlvoski is gash.

Overeem has said he thinks Fedor wants to leave Strikeforce.

"And now, I don't know what is going to happen because I think [Fedor] might want to leave Strikeforce. I'm not really occupied with the situation; I'm just focused on myself and my training"


A friend of mine on another forum told me that the dispute between Strikeforce and M-1 is that M-1 dont want Fedor on a showtime card as they would get way more profit from the CBS card.


"M-1 has it in their contract that Fedor fights on CBS cards... Why? cause this: When SF has a card on CBS, CBS gets money thru advertisements and commercial interruptions during the show...the more viewers watching the more expensive it becomes to have these advertisements and sponsors...CBS in their Contract will split this money with SF...In turn M-1 recieves a healthy chunk of it from SF for having their poster boy in the main event which is arguably why most of these viewers are tuning in. So why would M-1 get pissed about sumthing like this? Cause there isnt jack shit in the contract about Showtime fights...There is more money to be made on CBS than a Showtime card. So M-1 is throwing a shit fit & is saying SF isnt upholding their end of the contract so M-1 probably wants a higher base bay added into the contract for Fedor to fight on Showtime."

come on,we all knew that M1 would try and fuck strikeforce at some stage.

It would completely fuck strikeforce up if M1 pulled Fedor from their cards,not only would it kill their Heavywieght division but i presume alot of their sponsers and TV deals were based on them having the Best MMA fighter on the planet fighting for them.
Mousassi seems like he wants out when he can so he can fight the UFC's LHW's,That leaves them with Hendo,Sheids and Diaz as their most marketable fighters I'd say,oh and Cyborg for the womens division.
I also think that paying fighters like Lawler 100K per fight might not be the best investment in a fighter either.(unless all his opponents like Manhoef only get 5K )

i just hope their LW division can save the day,there are some great fights to be made there and you can't have a better example of that than the Melendez,Aoki fight coming up,can't wait for this fight

I'm kind of loving the pure inevitability of M-1's behavior. Damn annoying, but kind of funny.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Arlovski again. Heavyweight divisions seem empty without him...