Andrei Arlovski Given Props by Fellow BKFC Champ for Knucklemania VI Title Win: “He’s a Beast”
Andrei Arlovski cemented himself as the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship heavyweight kingpin over the weekend, and one of BKFC’s titleholders has weighed in on the KnuckleMania VI headliner. The former UFC heavyweight champion claimed Ben Rothwell’s heavyweight strap, and Arlovski has cemented himself as a two-sport champion after recently turning 47 years old.
Recently minted BKFC welterweight champ Dustin Pague, who unseated Julian Lane from his throne in January, commented on the Arlovski vs. Rothwell affair, as Pague said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“I mean, I’ve been watching Andrei Arlovski since I was 16 years old. That’s one of the fighters that inspired me to get into mixed martial arts at a young age. Yeah, he’s a beast. He’s getting up there in age, man.”
Also, when referencing that video going around of the influencer kids messing around with Arlovski at the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua card and the viral scuffle situation that generated, Pague stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Yeah, they had no idea what they were getting into, but good to see nothing crazy happened. You know, they all walked away unscathed [laughs].”
Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell BKFC KnuckleMania VI overview
Andrei Arlovski is now a heavyweight champion in gloveless combat in what was his sophomore bare-knuckle bout, and the Belarusian combatant showed out over the weekend in Philadelphia. On February 7th, Arlovski became BKFC champ over twenty years after cementing himself as the UFC’s heavyweight titleholder. This was also his third overall victory against Rothwell, with Arlovski besting him in prior MMA outings under the Affliction and UFC banners, respectively.
Rothwell claimed the heavyweight belt at last year’s BKFC KnuckleMania V, which was also in Philly, but alas, he was not able to notch that first title defense or that coveted first win against Arlovski in their three-fight, two-sport series. Arlovski has been active since leaving the UFC cage, with other combat sports outings in Misfits Boxing and Dirty Boxing Championship also filling out his schedule.
To cap things off in an inspirational fashion, Arlovski also has an impassioned post-fight speech at BKFC KnuckleMania VI about motivating people who are in cancer recovery, as Arlovski has survived the disease three times.
