Andrei Arlovski shuts down Jack Doherty after viral brawl at Paul vs. Joshua: 'You're full of s***, my guy'

Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua weren’t the only high-profile heavyweights to throw hands at the Kaseya Center in Miami this past Friday. In attendance for the festivities was also former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski, who unexpectedly found himself involved in arguably the night’s most viral moment.

Following the conclusion of the event, Arlovski, 46, was on his way out of the venue with his family and friends. However, things quickly went awry when Arlovski bumped into polarizing streamer Jack Doherty, who was filming while walking through the arena. The brief encounter immediately escalated as friends of Doherty, alongside his bodyguard, hurled punches at the MMA legend, igniting a short-lived brawl.

Arlovski, 46, walked away unscathed after the YouTubers backed off. Speaking on Monday’s edition of Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Arlovski explained what happened to set off the altercation.

“I tried to avoid all of this, [but they] bumped into my wife. And s*** happens, you know? I turn around and ask, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ And boom, bam, bam, bam, bam, boom, boom — end of story,” Arlovski said while recalling the exchange.

“He bumped me, and I said, ‘Guy, what’s going on?’ And his friend jump on me, and bodyguard, and the video speaks for itself. So I want to get more footage from different angles. That’s it, pretty much.”

Arlovski (34-24 MMA; 1-0 boxing; 1-0 BKFC; 1-0 Dirty Boxing) has competed professionally at the highest levels in combat sports across four different decades.

Despite his level of fame, Arlovski has been blown away by the attention he has gained from the interaction.

“I woke up in the morning. I said, ‘What’s going on? F***.’ Text messages, phone calls, some messages on Instagram. ‘You’re a hero,’ etc., etc. etc. I was shocked,” Arlovski said. “Listen, I didn’t have so much attention after some fights in the UFC.”

Part of Doherty’s online schtick is bumping into strangers and starting fights while hiding behind his bodyguard and cohorts. Since Friday, the 22-year-old has taken to social media to claim his innocence in the scuffle. Despite video evidence from multiple angles proving the contrary, Doherty claimed Arlovski was the one who bumped into his cameraman and threw a kick that set off the flurry of fists.

In good spirits after the matter, Arlovski has played along with the response online and even said he welcomes a bizarre multi-man gimmick fight or a matchup against Doherty’s bodyguard.

“Everybody blames old dog, old guy,” an amused Arlovski said. “Listen, I spent some f***ing time to read those comments, and 99% think you’re full of s***, my guy.

“Twenty-five-plus years in the business, you think I don’t have enough fighting time in the Octagon, in the cage, in the ring, in practice, and I’m stupid enough to [start something with some kids]? I understand if I would be f***ing by myself and would be drunk, s*** happens, but video shows clearly [what happened]. Like, come on, guy. I tried to ask him what’s going on and got f***ing punched right away. It is what it is.”

Considering how grizzled of a veteran Arlovski is in the combat sports space, the altercation initially garnered speculation around its legitimacy, thanks to Doherty consistently performing stunts such as this online. When asked directly whether that was the case, Arlovski answered as simply as one would expect.

“How old am I?” he said with a laugh. “Of course not.”

In terms of his pro career, Arlovski has turned his attention away from MMA since parting ways with the UFC in 2024. “Pitbull” will return to action when he challenges BKFC heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell in the main event of BKFC: KnuckleMania 6 on Feb. 7. The match will be a trilogy bout of sorts; Arlovski knocked out Rothwell under the Affliction banner in 2008, then won a UFC rematch via decision in 2019.

Andrei Arlovski shuts down Jack Doherty after viral brawl at Paul vs. Joshua: ‘You’re full of s***, my guy’

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