Report: Andrei Arlovski could sign with Affliction on May 19
May 15, 2008 by Adam Morgan
Josh Gross at SI.com has an update on what’s going on with Andrei Arlovski and it looks like we’ll know the status of Arlovski at least by the end of the month:
May 19 is the day when Andrei Arlovski could sign with Affliction, SI.com has learned. That is, assuming the UFC declines to match what is believed to be a deal that pays the former UFC champion in the low-to-mid six figures for the first of three non-exclusive bouts.
A representative from Arlovski’s camp explained there was “nothing to report,” though continued on to say negotiations with the UFC were ongoing.
Should Arlovski and Affliction complete their deal, the Belarusian is expected to appear at next Tuesday’s press conference at the in Century City, Calif., to announce a fight against former International Fight League heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell.
Now we know why Dana White sounded glum about the whole Arlovski deal. I doubt that he can compete with what Affliction’s offering him if this is all true. Non-exclusive bouts are the key here. Dana wants Arlovski in the UFC and the UFC only. Affliction is giving him the opportunity to fight three fights wherever he feels the best situation for him is.
In other Affliction-related news, Gross also hints that the involvement of George Greenberg, a Fox Sports executive, could mean that the Affliction undercard might be shown on television:
Greenberg’s presence at the press conference suggests there is something to rumors that the undercard of the July 19 Affliction event would be broadcast live on FSN. Asked to confirm why Greenberg was attending the announcement, Affliction declined to comment.
If true, I hope he destroys Rothwell in spectacular fashion (nothing against Ben, just for AA’s benefit), then finds a way to come back to UFC and fight.
ADAM,
Is Affliction signing these guys (Fedor, Barnett, AA, etc) to multi-fight deals (non-exclusive) or just single fight contracts? Any info would be appreciated.
I wish Andre the best. I don’t feel bad for the ufc at all, I think they shunned Andre especially his last fight. I wonder if this is a pattern for the elite fighters whose contracts come to an end.
Andy,
Kind of reminds me of the tactics they used with Vera, only worse. I know Vera’s agent wasn’t helping much, but they kind of put him on the shelf for a loooong time.
If nothing else, i hope the UFC/Dana learns from this and realizes you can’t treat big-time fighters this way.
Regardless, AA deserved better than getting tucked on the non-televised portion and basically ignored.
I have no idea on the in’s and out’s of the UFC so I can only comment on what I’ve seen and heard over time. I think Dana dropped the ball with Andrei. He after defeated Werdum last year had to wait until March to fight again. That was bullshit. There were plenty of options for them to use Andrei and they chose that route.
Imagine if Andrei would’ve fought Chuck, Shogun, Jardine, Forrest, the list goes on. All those options were avilable and they didn’t anything until March 2008. WTF?
I’ve never heard Arlovski speak any things bad about the UFC and maybe he never will, I don’t know? What I do know is, Andrei is a class act and will get what’s coming to him. With MMA being as big as it is, maybe testing other org’s isn’t a bad idea. With all that said, I hope to see him appear in the UFC again very soon. I really would like to see Arlovski vs. Nogueira at some point in time.
This Affliction show could be good afterall. The Fedor Sylvia fight will be ok, although Sylvia is an armbar waiting to happen. He should get “armbar” tattooed on his forehead before this fight.
Considering how Werdum owned Gonzaga, Arlovski’s conservative approach against Werdum looks a lot smarter in hindsight. And looking back, Arlovski is much more exciting than Cro Cop, Gonzaga, and Kongo.
Davey D-
Arlovski is a heavyweight. Chuck, Shogun, Jardine, and Forest are Light Heavy Weights. As Joe Rogan would say, Arlovski would have to cut off one of his legs to make LHW.
MMA SKOOL - You’re absolutley right. I should’ve know that. I guess I’m just a little peeved that he’s gone. I just wish they would’ve treated him better. Again, I don’t claim to know it all. But, they could’ve put Andrei against guy’s like Herring, Kongo, Nog’, Sanchez, Cro Cop…anyone one of them would’ve been honored to fight Arlovski last year and didn’t even get the chance.
I predict UFC won’t agree to a non-exclusive deal with Arlovski, because his departure isn’t a serious blow to the org. It’ll have to be a much bigger name before White sets the precedent of a non-exclusive deal. When he agrees to that once, he’ll have to agree to it repeatedly.
mike what do you conder a bigger name than aa, is it fedor, barnett, arlovski is still a major player in mma.
Hmmm, I wish I was more well versed on these contracts. The statements obviously make it sound like he’s a restricted free agent (free to talk but UFC can match any offer to keep him). However I doubt the non-exclusive part of the contract would also have to be matched. Usually just the monetary rewards. If they’d also have to match non-exclusivity they have the worst lawyers in history.
arlovski or not, i’m stoked to hear this could end up on FSN. figured it would be destine for hdnet.
his departure isn’t a serious blow to the org.
I tend to disagree. The UFC’s Heavyweight division still isn’t anything special, and not having Arlovski in it, doesn’t make it any better.