Pissed Off Pitbull Still Caged by UFC

Before we get into the article, know that this writer is a Fuckin' Tool for dropping this line in his prose, " I don't love mixed-martial arts, but I do love the UFC product."

UFC playing hardball with Arlovski

FIGHTIN' WORDS | Former heavyweight champ discovers that no contract talk isn't cheap

November 9, 2007
BY ROMAN MODROWSKI rmodrowski@suntimes.com

Former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski is in the biggest fight of his career, and he's losing.

Arlovski, who fights out of Chicago, is in a war of wills with UFC president Dana White. And as fierce as the 6-4, 240-pound Arlovski has been in the octagon at times, White is the toughest hombre in the UFC. You don't take a nothing organization and build it into a Sports Illustrated cover story without being able to stare down formidable opponents.

Arlovski has one fight left on his UFC contract. White wants to sign him to an extension before scheduling Arlovski's next fight. Arlovski wants to fight first and then negotiate a new contract. If he doesn't sign an extension or fight again, Arlovski's contract expires April 15.

White holds all the cards, but I doubt he'll just let the contract expire. It's bad business. Arlovski remains one of the five most popular fighters in the UFC. Just his appearance in Cincinnati at UFC 77 caused a huge stir in the crowd despite the fact he hasn't fought since April 21.

At the very least, White will want Arlovski to sell pay-per-view units before the contract expires. But in the meantime, Arlovski doesn't have an income. He still trains at JABB gym, and trainers aren't free. He's also losing sponsorship opportunities.

Arlovski's camp didn't contact me. They don't want to make this public. He's a loyal UFC employee who has kept his nose clean, and hopefully he'll be rewarded.

''He's losing a tremendous amount of money,'' Arlovski adviser Leo Khorolinsky said. ''He relies on fighting to maintain a living.

''We're ready to fight whenever they ask. We believe we have a very good relationship with the UFC and Dana.''

But the sides haven't talked in three weeks.

''I won't talk about what was said because it was confidential,'' Khorolinsky said. ''We haven't declined any offers to fight.''

White's in a similar situation with Randy Couture, who publicly ripped the UFC for its pay scale. White said he has Couture under contract and hasn't blinked.

With so many new mixed-martial arts organizations willing to pay more than the UFC, White likely will face more unhappy fighters. White's banking on the UFC brand winning out. It's still the most popular MMA entity by far. And if older, established veterans want to leave, the UFC's marketing machine will partially fill the void with younger fighters.

An IFL exec recently asked me to give his league a chance, and I thought about why I don't write more about their league. And the answer -- I think -- is shared by many fans. I don't love mixed-martial arts, but I do love the UFC product.

White may be considering the possibility Arlovski will bolt when he becomes a free agent.

''We have a contract with the UFC,'' Khorolinsky said. ''We're not going anywhere. We have no other options. Our option is to fulfill our contract.

''The UFC is our employer. Dana White is our boss. As far as I'm concerned, we've been very good and loyal employees for the last seven years. Whenever the boss calls, we're here to talk or fight.''

I asked White about it recently, and he said Arlovski is ''sitting on the bench.''

''He hasn't been forgotten,'' White said. ''I don't know what he's doing. I want to get him back in the mix.

''I'm in the contract business. Every day I re-sign a new guy and this guy or that guy is upset about it. I have 250 guys under contract.''

Hopefully, White's ready to lift one of those guys off the bench.