Andrei Arlovski has continued to defy the odds with his latest appearance inside the BKFC ring. At age 47, time appears to be nothing more than a number for “The Pitbull,” who added another championship to his Hall of Fame combat résumé on Saturday with his stoppage victory over Ben Rothwell at BKFC KnuckleMania 6.
Bare-knuckle boxing is still new territory for the former UFC heavyweight champion. A 60-fight MMA veteran, Arlovski made his debut in the gloveless combat spectacle in June, defeating fellow MMA veteran Josh Copeland with a fourth-round TKO stoppage. Arlovski impressed the BKFC brass enough to earn a title shot against an old MMA rival — the now-former BKFC heavyweight champion Rothwell.
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An 11-year gap separated their first two MMA bouts in 2008 and 2019, both of which Arlovski won. Despite another lengthy gap and Rothwell’s superior BKFC experience, Arlovski revealed Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Boys in the Back” that he believed he still had the edge going into KnuckleMania.
“I knew I was in his head since 2008, our fight in the UFC, and now in BKFC,” Arlovski said. “So my team, my boxing coach, did a great job.
“I have respect for him, but no relationship. We have same management team, but nothing more.”
Arlovski’s longevity within combat sports is nothing short of remarkable. The Belarusian has far outlasted any perceived expiration date, competing at a high level since the late 1990s. After being written off once again following his UFC departure in 2024, he has gone undefeated across his past four outings, spanning boxing, bare-knuckle boxing and the mixed rules of Dirty Boxing.
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Yet none of his battles inside a cage or ring compares to those Arlovski has faced outside of competition. Ahead of his trilogy bout with Rothwell, the former UFC champ stunned many by revealing on social media that he has overcome cancer three times, with the most recent coming just last year.
“I feel I still have a couple more years [of fighting],” Arlovski said Monday. “I’m already a winner because I beat f***ing cancer three times. So back in my fight against Ben Rothwell, it doesn’t f***ing matter if I lose a fight or win the fight. It doesn’t matter for me. Three times [I] beat the f***ing cancer, it’s pretty f***ing legit, you know? I feel f***ing great. Like Nike — just do it.”
That revelation makes Arlovski’s enduring success — and ability to rebound from adversity — seem almost impossible. Yet he now stands as the new BKFC heavyweight champion.
“First cancer I had was back in 2010, June. Second was 2013. And Feb. 24 is going to be exactly one year [from] when a tumor was removed from my kidney,” he revealed.
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“I also got removed 28 lymph nodes, and I went through some chemotherapy. I wasn’t ready to talk about my cancer years ago, but now I feel like it’s what people need.”
Opening up about such vulnerability wasn’t something Arlovski envisioned until his wife encouraged him to share his story. Since doing so, he has already felt the impact it’s had on others.
“I started Arvlovski Method,” Arlovski said. “It’s my new project, and actually I was surprised how many people DM’d me messages about how it’s powerful for them. Motivating them. How people need this stuff. When I read it, I got tears in my eyes. Hopefully I share my experience with cancer, my battle — I got three Ws against cancer, and I’m ready to share it with the world what’s going on.
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“The most important thing is never give up, because life is beautiful. Just keep fighting, guys.”
It has been a legendary run for the future UFC Hall of Famer. Even before setting the promotion’s heavyweight record for most fights at 42 — second-most in UFC history across weight divisions — Arlovski already had a compelling Hall of Fame case.
To make his story even sweeter, Saturday’s Rothwell title win came just two days shy of the anniversary of Arlovski’s first UFC championship victory over Tim Sylvia — and only three days after his birthday.
“I became first time UFC champion on Feb. 5, 2005. Twenty-one years later, on Feb. 7, I became a BKFC heavyweight world champion,” he said.
“A great present for my birthday at age 47. It was another birthday present. I feel pretty great.”
