Andrei Arlovski reveals when he plans to retire: “I want to beat a couple of more records”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski wants to keep fighting until he’s 48 years old.

‘The Pitbull’ is fresh off his return at UFC 303 over the weekend in Las Vegas. Fighting on the prelims against Martin Buday, Andrei Arlovski entered the bout riding a three-fight losing streak. While the 45-year-old gave a spirited effort, he still exited the cage with a split-decision defeat. As it turns out, that will be his final appearance in the octagon.

At the UFC 303 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that the company was parting ways with Andrei Arlovski. The former heavyweight champion later released a statement to social media, seemingly unhappy with his release. In the lengthy post, Arlovski also revealed plans to keep fighting on despite his age and recent losses.

Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Andrei Arlovski revealed his next plans. While he doesn’t have any definitive answer as to when or where he will fight, he still has plans to compete moving forward.

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Andrei Arlovski says he wants to fight at least until he’s 48 years old like boxer Bernard Hopkins, who became a champion at that age.

“Uncle Dana [White] helped me to buy a new house, but I need to pay bills. I have a newborn baby.”

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski discusses career future after release

In the interview, Andrei Arlovski again confirmed his intentions to keep fighting. The 45-year-old explained that he has a few more records he would like to break, and also that he would like to compete until he’s 48. Arlovski also stated that fighting is his career and that he still needs to support his family.

“I knew it was going to be my last fight.” Andrei Arlovski stated on The MMA Hour discussing his UFC release. “The UFC proposed to do something but I didn’t want it. My chapter in the UFC is closed, but not on my MMA career. That’s why I decided not to do something, because the UFC proposed something and I said no. It was my last fight [in the UFC]… I’m not done fighting so. I’m done with the UFC but I’m not done fighting. More s*it is coming, we’re working on stuff.”

He continued, “…I want to beat a couple of more records. One of them is Bernard Hopkins, he fought at 48 last fight and was champion. Obviously,Uncle Dana helped me buy a new house but I need to pay bills. I have a newborn baby, so I need to do a couple of more years.”

What do you make of these comments from the former UFC champion? Who do you want to see Andrei Arlovski fight next?