After dropping three-straight MMA fights, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will make his K-1 debut against Raul Catinas at this year’s K-1 Final 16. The card will take place on Oct. 2 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, Korea.
Multiple media sources originally reported that Arlovski would fight on the card in a superfight. However, now that Badr Hari has withdrawn, Arlovski will make his debut in the tournament.
Last year, Arlovski faced off against then-number one heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. The Belarusian fighter had won five fights in a row to earn the shot. Late in the first round, Emelianenko countered a flying knee with a devastating punch and finished Arlovski.
Since the defeat, the former UFC champion has not been able to rebound. He dropped his next two fights to Brett Rogers and Antonio Silva under the Strikeforce banner. He was supposed to fight for the vacant Dream heavyweight title, but the fight failed to materialize.
Arlovski has not fought in a high-level kickboxing event before. However, he has trained religiously with boxing guru Freddie Roach.
Catinas has reached the semi-finals of two regional K-1 tournaments, the 2008 K-1 Prague and 2009 K-1 Lodz events. He holds impressive victories over K-1 World Grand Prix veterans Carter Williams and Stefan Leko.
If Arlovski defeats Catinas he will advance to the final 8 on Dec. 11 in Yokohama, Japan. Other notable fighters competing in Seoul are Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, Peter Aerts and Semmy Schilt.