Andrei Arlovski ‘super upset’ with UFC Vegas 53 performance, was ‘really worried’ about scores
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski told reporters he was “super upset” with his performance against Jake Collier at UFC Vegas 53 and admitted he followed hardly any of the gameplan set forth by his coaches.
In the end, Arlovski gutted out a split decision victory to tie Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone for the most UFC wins in history at 23. After one of the judges scored the fight 30-27 for Collier, Arlovski said he was “really worried” the decision would go the other way.
“The biggest pressure, I give it to myself,” Arlovski said. “Because I’m pushing myself all the time. I’m just like, I guess I need to do even more. And now I have to be smarter.
“I have great coaches — Paulino Hernandez, Mike Brown, Steve Mocco — I just need to, again, put everything together. Like I’ve said before, I still have a small window, some small period of time. It’s just like, come on, guy — be serious. Do what you have to do.”
Still, Arlovski’s performance was enough to keep his hot streak alive. The 43-year-old former champion has now tied his longest UFC winning streak since his six-fight winning streak from 2002-05, which coincided with his title run. So when asked on Saturday to name the proudest moment of his career, “The Pitbull” didn’t mince words.
“I’m 43 and still fighting,” Arlovski said with a smile.
Check out Arlovski’s full interview above courtesy of MMA Underground.