arlovski talks about his upcoming fight against fedor, the ufc, lesnar, k1, sambo
source:
http://www.m1mixfight.com/news/2009/1/21/andrei_arlovski_interview_before_fedors_bout/
Andrei Arlovski gave an interview to our site in which he told about his preparation for the fight with Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction & M-1's "Day of Reckoning" event come January, 24-th. Also Andrei talks the possibility of the boxing debut, his relationship with the UFC and return to Belorussia. Moreover the questions of the local visitors were answered.
Hi Andrei. Thank you for the interview to our website.
- Hi. You’re welcome, no problem.
You are spending so much time at Freddie Roach gym, are you going to try to outbox Fedor?
- I train at his gym only a few times a year. The rest of time I train at other gyms with my team. I have a boxing trainer – Mike Garcia, two trainers in freestyle wrestling – Sean Bormet and John Kading, both of them were the members of the national wrestling US team and one of them was the US team trainer for the Olympics in Beijing. I train with them me at Overtime Training Center which is Olympic training base of the north-west of US. Lately they've been training MMA, jujitsu, and kick-boxing. And freestyle wrestling is also on high level there. My jiu-jitsu coach is Dino Costeas. I don’t concentrate only on one aspect of the game, I try to improve my overall skills. What about my tactics for the fight with Fedor – I will try to show my best on January 24th.
How serious is your intention to debut in professional boxing? Is it just a wish or a far-reaching solid plans? - It would be a good opportunity to test myself. But for the present moment I don’t think that much about boxing, all my spirit and training are concentrated on the Fight with Fedor Emelianenko. I am an MMA fighter now and we’ll see then.
According to all accounts boxing is in the doldrums now and has been rolling down into the crisis. And that while MMA keep winning the new fans. Do you agree with it and why?- You are absolutely right. The interest to boxing goes down in America and MMA get more and more popularity. Why does it happen? I am not sure. Maybe because of the age group of boxing audience. There are people of 40-45 years old watching all the boxing events. The generations are changing and young people probably prefer MMA. Though I saw the way the audience treated Manny Pacquiao, the best boxer in the world, he has a lot of fans and there is no deficiency of interest to his person.
Does the fact that two fighters from ex-USSR will meet at the ring attract more audience?
- I came to America from Belarus and stayed here to live and to train. A lot of people, you know, think I am a man with no home, no flag. That’s not true. I know that Fedor is a good fighter who deserves his title. It’s gonna be a fight of two professionals and it will be an opportunity for me to show my best and find out who will be stronger that night.
Did you know Fedor before and what are your relations with him?- Yes, five years a go there was an MMA tournament in Russia at Sports complex “Yubileyniy” and Red Devil club had participated in it. I came there to support my good friend Andrei Semenov. In the passage I met Fedor. It was out first meeting. We haven’t really communicated. But after the first M-1 and Affliction event, “Banned” I dropped at his place and said: “Well done, great fight”
Is your return to UFC possible?- I used to fight in UFC for eight years and now I am in another organization, Affliction and M-1, we’ll see after the expiration of the contract.
What do you think about Dana White and what is your relationship with him?- We do not have malevolence between us. We keep warm and friendly relations after I left UFC. If you are a big person and a leader of one of the most successful, maybe the most successful organization in the world, it is really hard to remain good for everyone. For some people he is good, for others – not. With respect to my team and myself – we have good relations with UFC and Dana White. He supported and congratulated me after two fights outside the UFC.
How do you prepare for the fight with Fedor Emeianenko? What is your training regimen?- As I told you before I pay attention to different aspects. I do freestyle wrestling, bjj, and boxing. I train 3 or 4 times a week at various gyms. Saturday and Sunday are my days off. I prepare well and will do my best to win this fight.
Andrei, did you work with weights in the past, if so what are your results?- I went in for bodybuilding since I were 14, it was pretty popular that time. I did the exercises on biceps, squatting, dead lift. My best result in dead lift was 320 kg. In my present shape I could hardly repeat it. I do the power lifting but mostly to train the less developed muscles to remove the difference between more developed muscles like biceps and torso muscles and less developed fragments.
Do you think about returning back to Belarus or Russia?- I came to US not for fun. The training process there met the certain conditions. When I started to fight UFC took place only in America and coming there every week didn’t make sense. So I decided to stay and train there. And all my trainers and my team are based in Chicago and in LA. Although I live and train in the US I visit my friends and relatives from Belarus and Russia after each fight. If you are a professional athlete sometimes you have to sacrifice something and spend much time far from your home to achieve the results. I love my motherland very much. All my family lives in Belarus and I try to visit them as often as possible. If I get the reasonable offer for me and my team to fight in Russia or in Belarus I will accept it and will show my best in front of Russian and Belorussian audience.
Andrei, what motivates you to participate in MMA: money, pride or fame?- First of all I love martial arts and the things I do. The Champion belt means a lot to me. When I started fighting the fees were nominal – for my first fight in UFC I got $2000 and the same amount as a win bonus. It would not be true to tell that I am participating only for money. The financial aspect is significant for the professionals is helps achieve high results. In professional sports it's inseparably connected with hard trainings and beside the moral compensation it is very important to get the deserved financial compensation to support yourself and your relatives. As you know the career of a professional athlete is not everlasting and I want to obtain maximum moral and financial results. I intend to have a family and I would like to afford to take care of it. And also it is very nice to fell the pride for the work done, for your country and for justifying the hopes of your fans.
What is the difference in punching techniques in MMA and boxing?- The base is the same. In boxing the punches are more accurate and aimed and the target in boxing is not only the head but also the body and liver. The MMA fighters mostly use punches and kicks to the head. So the technique is different but the base is the same.
What do you think about Brock Lesnar and his champion’s title?- You know it is pretty surreal. He participated in three fights and is already a heavyweight champion. It’s really hard to understand. I had to work for 5 years to get the UFC champion belt. He is lucky, but I’m not impressed by him.
Would you like to participate in K-1?- Yes, it would be interesting for me. Especially in Japan.
And what about the Dutch ones?- And in Dutch too. I think that the Dutch-based Muai-Thai and kickboxing schools are one of the best in the world.
Andrei, do you have the plans to act in a movie? Or are you absolutely absorbed in your training process?
For now I am concentrated on the fight of 24th of January (M-1 and Affliction 'Day of Reckoning') but I’d like to do it in the future. And I prefer to play a good role with a decent amount of text and dialogues. I had an opportunity to be in a couple of Russian- or Belorussian movies and I have already starred with Eric Roberts in the US movie called “8 of Diamonds”. I got some offers afterwards but I couldn’t accept them because they were not intriguing enough and I could not squeeze them into my training and fighting schedule. I might accept an offer to be in a movie if the role needs to be worked on, not just being the interior part. And I would consider an offer from the Russian movie-makers with a great pleasure.
Do you have any friends among MMA fighters and do you have any bad relations with some of them?
-My only friend among MMA fighters is Andrei Semenov. We communicate and try to keep in touch. I have good relations with other fighters. I respect them all. I just say “Hi” and “Bye” when we meet and that’s how we communicate. My friends from Belorussia are not the hardcore MMA fans, they prefer boxing or hockey instead. My old friend has just arrived from Belorussia recently, we both were in the national team of Belorussia. I participated in sambo and judo tournaments while he participated in freestyle wrestling. He came intentionally to support me in the upcoming fight.
Would you like to participate in sambo tournaments and world combat sambo championship in the future?- I would like to but I don’t know in what weight class I wouldl be put the moment I decide to do it. In five years I can participate as a veteran. I would like to take part in boxing tournaments. But for the present moment I can not match professional events and amateur tournaments.
What can you tell to your Russian fans?- I know that there is a lot of people in Russia following my career and supporting me. I would like to thank all my Russian fans for their support and interest in me as an athlete and a person. I would like to wish them Happy New Year, great health, success in all aspects of life and wealth to their houses. God bless you all!
Andrei, thank you very much for your consideration and answering our questions. Good luck in your preparations for the upcoming fight.
The interview is conducted with the support of Andrei's official website -
www.arlovski.com
