Arlovski wanted to fight Rothwell on short notice, but management intervened

Earlier today we learned that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski had been booked to fight Stipe Miocic in the co-main event of January’s UFC 195 fight card in Las Vegas.

However, according to Arlovski, he was offered a different fight prior to the Miocic bout by UFC officials.

“The Pitbull” told MMAJunkie’s Mike Bohn that the UFC had offered him a short-notice fight with Ben Rothwell at this Saturday’s UFC Dublin event, where he would have filled in for the aforementioned Miocic.

“Actually the UFC contact my management team and I was like ‘I’m in’ (to take a fight Rothwell on short notice), but my trainers, my managers said, ‘Listen, guy, we have to slow down a little bit. We have to wait. Maybe it’s not good idea.’ I have to agree with them, so now it’s even better because I’m going to fight Miocic on January 2, which is great.”

Arlovski believes he made the right decision by not taking the short notice fight with Rothwell. The former champ already holds a knockout win over “Big” Ben from back in 2008, so he had little to gain in comparison to his newly announced bout with Miocic.

With that said, “The Pitbull” still feels bad for Rothwell, who was pulled from this Saturday’s event and has not yet received a future booking.

“I just feel bad for Ben Rothwell that his fight was canceled. I’m sure he trained hard, he’s a good guy but this is business, nothing personal. If the UFC decided to put me against Stipe Miocic on January 2, I’m sold.”

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