Andrei Arlovski's Next Move: A Possible Rebirth in K-1

It’s been an up-and-down couple of years for former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. He would win three straight fights in 2008, extending his winning streak to five. In 2009 he would lose twice, both in dramatic fashion: both Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers came very close to knocking his head off of his shoulders. In 2010, Arlovski would lose to Antonio Silva in a fight where he showed a lot of heart but a seemingly backwards need to abandon all aspects of the MMA game save for striking. And now, as 2010 draws to a close, Arlovski is hoping to re-invent himself in the famed K-1 kickboxing promotion.

MMAMania brings word that Arlovski has been scheduled to compete in the upcoming K-1 World Grand Prix. The announcement came courtesy of Michael “The Voice” Schiavello, who had this to say: “October 2nd in Seoul, live on HDNet, in a superfight making his K-1 debut, former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, yes we will have live October 2nd from Seoul only on HDNet. Andrei Arlovski makes his K-1 debut.”

I think it will be very interesting to see Andrei Arlovski in a K-1 ring, and even though I barely watch K-1, I’m almost positive that I’ll be watching his fight. I’ve been an Arlovski fan for years, and I think he could possibly make the transition to K-1 and be moderately successful. It all hinges on how he’s able to translate the power in his hands into a K-1 setting, which is pretty different from traditional MMA. Alistair Overeem has already proven that it can be done, so I’m really pulling for “The Pitbull” and I hope that a stint in K-1 would rejuvenate his career.

Because honestly, the alternative is pretty grim. If Arlovski flops in his K-1 debut, or worse yet, if he gets knocked out again, I don’t see him having many options left. If he finishes his Strikeforce contract without any legitimate wins to his credit (wins against competition that matters) he may even be in the same boat as Tim Sylvia should this not work out for him: scraping and crawling his way back towards Heavyweight relevancy in the lower-end/bottom-tier promotions.

And if you want my opinion? I think Arlovski will be successful in K-1. His last fight showed that he is becoming more and more of a pure striker (and in MMA, that’s both a positive and a negative), and he’ll excel with K-1’s rules. It won’t be easy, not by a long shot, because K-1 has been the home of the best pure strikers in the world for what feels like forever. But Arlovski has always had great hands, and even though he’s hit a tough losing skid recently, those hands still have their power. If Arlovski can get his footwork and pacing down, he’ll probably have a pretty decent run as a K-1 fighter.

But if it doesn’t work out, I think it’s time that Arlovski started from scratch. Whatever he’s doing isn’t working, whoever he’s working with isn’t making the grade no matter how accomplished they may be. If this K-1 excursion results in more losses, nothing short of a complete overhaul will rejuvenate Arlovski’s career. It’s tough to say that about a fighter I’ve been following for so long, but some difficult days are ahead of Arlovski win or lose. But I wish him all the best.

And what about you, fans and friends? How successful do you think Andrei Arlovski will be in K-1?