Andrei Arlovski dismisses retirement talk following his submission loss to Barnett

Following a disappointing submission loss to grappling ace Josh Barnett at yesterday’s UFC Hamburg event, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski spoke about the setback and discussed his fighting future:

“At least he didn’t knock me out,” Arlovski said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He just choked me.”

To which Barnett replied, “I tried to (knock him out). Andrei and I, we have wins and losses against the all-time greats. Two of his recent losses were to Stipe and Overeem; one of them is the champ and the other is fighting for the belt next,” Barnett said. “It’s not like we’re fighting the bum of the month.”

“Great speech,” Arlovski concurred in response.

Although Barnett is the first man to ever submit the ‘Pitbull’, the loss marks Andrei’s third in a row, wherein he was finished in all three. Arlovski is now 4-3 since returning to the UFC in 2014, having won four in a row before the three fight skid. Now 37-years-old, the Belarusian striker may qualify as a Hall-of-Famer, but is showing no signs of slowing down, despite the third round loss to Barnett on Saturday.

“I still have fire in my eyes,” Arlovski said. “I’m still ready to go.”

Arlovski had his moments in the wild heavyweight contest, connecting with the first punch of the fight after landing an uppercut, only to be dropped himself when the ‘Warmaster’ returned fire. The two men went round for round going into the third, with Arlovski narrowly taking the first and Barnett the second. Barnett used a standing wrist-lock to get the ‘Pitbull’ to the ground, where he succumbed to a rear-naked choke in 2:53 minutes of the third round.

No word yet from Dana White on whether or not we will see the ‘Pitbull’ again in the Octagon. Do you think Andrei Arlovski will fight again in the UFC? Sound off in the comments section, Penn Nation!