Andrei Arlovski has his first assignment of the year set.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will share the Octagon with Jared Vanderaa at UFC 271, which takes place on Feb. 12 at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Iridium Sports Agency — the management firm of Vanderaa — first announced the fight on social media. It was later confirmed by Arlovski.
Arlovski has gone 4-1 in his past five appearances, with his only loss coming by way of second-round rear-naked choke against Tom Aspinall at UFC Vegas 19 last February. Since then, the ‘Pitbull’ has rebounded with back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Chase Sherman and Carlos Felipe at UFC Vegas 24 and UFC Vegas 40, respectively.