Although Jairzinho Rozenstruik had finished both opponents he had faced in the Octagon before fighting Andrei Arlovski, and despite the fact he came from an 80 fight plus, kickboxing career, Andrei Arlovski’s admitted he looked past the heavyweight.

Arlovski admits to taking Rozenstruik lightly

The former UFC champ was booked to fight Rozenstruik in November, after the latter had taken out Junior Albini and Allen Crowder in his first two, UFC bouts. The win over Crowder took Rozenstruik just 9 seconds. At the time, Rozenstruik was carrying a pro-MMA record of 8-0, which accompanied his pro-kickboxing record of 76-8-1.

Well, recently Arlovski spoke with the media, ahead of Rozenstruik’s March 28th bout with Francis Ngannou. While reflecting on his loss to the Surinamese fighter, Arlovski said this (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Rozenstruik right now is training at American Top Team and he’s sparring behind the curtains, but my buddy who spars with him whooped his ass – and he makes me feel like (expletive) because I didn’t take that fight serious and I paid for it,” Arlovski said. “It was 29 seconds. I have no clue how he beat (Alistair) Overeem in the fifth round. So I guess he’s going to fight (Francis) Ngannou right now, and I don’t know what’s going to happen.

“I didn’t follow my game plan (against Rozenstruik), first of all, and secondly, I wasn’t that disciplined during the fight week,” Arlovski said. “I went to the restaurant and I had a nice dinner and I told all my coaches, ‘Listen, five more minutes and we’re going back to the restaurant.’ (Expletive) happens, you know, and thank God I still fight and I’m still in the UFC. I’m already three months with not even a glass of wine or beer, and I chose again what’s more important for me – and I just have to remind myself why I’m doing this.”

The takeaway?

So, there’s a couple of things to look at here. First off, it is kind of surprising to hear a veteran fighter like Arlovski, say he didn’t take Rozenstruik seriously. Sure, one could argue that since Arlovski’s fought a who’s who of the heavyweight division, he wasn’t concerned about fighting a kickboxer so early into his MMA career. But, still. When you consider Arlovski had gone 1-3, with 1 no-contest before that fight, it’s somewhat perplexing to hear that.

And who could be the ATT fighter who apparently “whooped” Rozenstruik in sparring? It’s hard to say. But, it would be interesting to know if they have a wrestling background or a developing grappling game, and worked the kickboxer over a bit on the ground. That said, of course, it would also be really interesting if someone bested Rozenstruik by a wide margin on the feet as well.

Arlovski, meanwhile, is booked to fight Philipe Lins at UFC Oklahoma City, on May 2nd.

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