MMAmania's Brian Hemminger speaks with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski

MMAmania\’s Brian Hemminger speaks with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski about his upcoming Universal Soldier movie, a potential fight against Anthony Johnson and when he expects to compete again in this exclusive interview.  

Andrei Arlovski is trying to work his way back to being one of the most feared men on the planet again.  The former UFC Heavyweight Champion has experienced severe ups and downs in his post-UFC career, scoring big stoppage wins over Roy Nelson and Ben Rothwell before a rough skid saw him drop four straight.  Since then, gone on a four fight unbeaten streak, looking better each time out and culminating in a first round TKO of Devin Cole in the inaugural World Series of show just over a week ago in Las Vegas.  

Arlovski has been keeping busy. On top of resurrecting his fight career, he\’s been taking increasingly bigger roles in action movies. His latest venture, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (Now available in Video on Demand and iTunes) is coming out in theaters on November 30th.  “The Pit Bull” Spoke with MMAmania.com about his recent role in the film, his thoughts on Anthony Johnson saying he\’s fight him and what he\’s planning next in this exclusive interview.  

Check it out:  

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Now because of your real life fight experience, did you have any say in the fight choreography or were you just following orders during filming?

 Andrei Arlovski: I definitely just did what I had to do, they\’re the professionals and yes, I have picked up things throughout my professional MMA career but it\’s completely different for a movie. You have to know the angles, I can\’t just swing my arms, you have to be conscious of the cameras and shots. I just followed orders.  

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Is it easier to do the fight scenes because of your MMA background or is it trickier because they tend to exaggerate things and you know what would be enough to finish something?

 Andrei Arlovski: I don\’t know how to answer. I did the last Universal Soldier in Bulgaria and they did a great job over there. They asked me to be in the new one and I guess they liked me because of my performance in the last movie. It was a big deal for me to be in this next movie. It was a lot of fun. They might like working with me because of my MMA career, but I don\’t know. It was a lot of fun, though.

 Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): What was it like doing a fight scene against Dolph Lundgren? That must have been pretty fun.  

Andrei Arlovski: It was fun! We practiced a lot, worked hard together and it was definitely fun.  

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Do you expect even bigger roles after this movie? You definitely expanded upon your role in the last Universal Soldier flick.  

Andrei Arlovski: I hope so. I definitely hope so.  

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): After the most recent World Series of show, Anthony Johnson said he\’d be interested in fighting you. Did you hear about that and what did you think about it if so?  

Andrei Arlovski: If World Series of thinks it would be a good fight, then why not? Why not?  

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Are you still planning on fighting Jeff Monson next? I saw some rumors about that but haven\’t heard anything official.  Andrei Arlovski: It\’s not 100 percent yet but my manager\’s working on a deal right now so we\’ll see hopefully.

 Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Do you have any plans to potentially be on the next World Series of card again, or is that something you haven\’t figured out yet?

 Andrei Arlovski: I\’m still under contract with World Series of . Hopefully yes, hopefully. I want to be on the next card after World Series of comes back.  So what do you think, Maniacs?

 Does Arlovski\’s answer sound like a fight between himself and “Rumble” Johnson could come to fruition? Have you seen his performance in either of the Universal Soldier movies? If so, what did you think?  Sound off!  (Here\’s a bonus clip of Arlovski in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning)