Andrei Arlovski releases statement explaining backstage brawl with Jack Doherty entourage

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski was in attendance for Friday's Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. He was expecting to be a spectator to the fights but ended up getting in one backstage.

Arlovski clashed with influencer Jack Doherty, his entourage, and security. The incident was caught on video showing Arlovski having his way with the influencer and crew.

On Sunday, Arlovski released a statement via social media addressing the altercation and blaming Doherty and associates for the incident.

"First of all, I didn't beat anyone," Arlovski said on Instagram. "I just stopped the threat. Someone threatened me, my wife, my kid, and I have another friend and his wife. I did what I was supposed to do and what every man is supposed to do: stop the threat."

Doherty has a different version of events. "The Andrei Arlovski fight started cause he randomly tried to kick me when I was walking by," Doherty wrote on X.

"How did I start the Andrei Arlovski fight?" The streamer said in a followup post. "Watch the video u old twitter f*cks u guys just point the finger at the kid who's half ur age and way richer than u I would do the same tho."

"I was just walking by and he tries to kick me for no reason and that's how it all started… I literally didn't say or do anything to him but I'll always be the bad guy in the situation," another post read.

Arlovski maintained that his actions were justified and in self defense.

"I guess because they were looking for content for their website. I guess I was a victim," Arlovski said. "They thought maybe it was going to be easy content for YouTube. Maybe that's why. Maybe I'm old. Maybe because it's three idiots and a big body guard. It's kind of weird because I saw him walking but I didn't pay attention that he might be with them. He kind of landed one punch. So I have to be more alert and pay attention to people who are around. That's the lesson. ... That guy was sneaky. He sucker punched me and I didn't expect his sucker punch to be honest with you."

The video appears to show Doherty shoulder check Arlovski as they were passing each other, something he does in a lot of videos. Watch the incident below and you be the judge.

(h/t MMAFighitng.com)

MMA Weekly

This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 12:59 AM.