Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (24-10 MMA) almost retired from the sport of mixed martial arts back in 2011, this after suffering a knockout loss to Sergei Kharitonov which at the time marked his fourth setback in a row.

Since then, “The Pit Bull” has gone 9-1 with 1 no-contest, including back-to-back first-round knockout victories in his most recent octagon performances.

The 36-year-old Belarusian talked about his career resurgence during the UFC 191 Media Call, here is what he had to say:

“I think I became a smarter person,” he stated on the UFC 191 Media Call. “I choose what is more important for me and I have a second run in UFC. I’m sure it’s going to be better than the first one. I don’t ever think it’s impossible to be a champion again.

“I just love what I’m doing right now and I feel great… I still have fire in my eyes,” he continued. “I’m just really grateful. It’s different than last time it was 10, 15 years ago. I still have that hope in my mind that I’m going to do this for my fans and just show that it’s not impossible to take a great competitor out on September 5.”

When asked about current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, whom Arlovski defeated via decision back in 2007, Andrei had the following to say:

“I have no comments about Fabricio Werdum,” he said. “I thought Cain [Velasquez] was going to beat him, but you have a new champion and hopefully one day I’m going to fight him again.”

Arlovski will fight former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in the co-main event of this Saturday’s UFC 191 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas.

If “The Pit Bull” can defeat Mir in Sin City, would you like to see him get awarded with a title shot? Sound off Penn Nation!

The Best Training Room You’ll Probably Ever See — D.C., Rockhold, Khabib, Velasquez All Training For UFC Greatness
[ooyala code=”J5c3UxdzpDWlYbuxxRyJVVXCUwnYxE3R” player_id=”bd214e34cfad476984102de4bf5e8da2″ width=”1280″ height=”720″ auto=”true”]