Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski ( born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has also competed for Strikeforce, WSOF, Affliction, EliteXC, ONE FC and M-1 Challenge. He currently fights in the UFC Heavyweight division. Arlovski resides in Chicago with his wife, son and their pitbull terrier Maximus. He is an Orthodox Christian. Arlovski did a public service announcement against dog fighting featuring Maximus and calling it inhumane and torture. Arlovski said he chose his nickname The Pitbull for the positive qualities these dogs have. At the age of 20, Arlovski began his professional MMA career at the Mix Fight M-1 in St Petersburg, Russia on 9 April 1999. It was a fairly inauspicious start, losing by KO to Viacheslav Datsik. Not deterred, Arlovski returned in 2000 to M-1 Global at the European Championships, taking the heavyweight crown with a submission victory and a KO victory.