Andrei Arlovski Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, out 6 to 8 Weeks

According to MMAFighting.com, Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski will need six to eight weeks away from the cage after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. 

This news comes at a particularly unfortunate time for the 35-year-old heavyweight. Since making his return to the UFC in June, Arlovski has rattled off two victories, the latest a beautiful knockout of recent title-challenger Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. 

Arlovski currently sits at No. 7 in the official UFC heavyweight rankings. 

With the surgery, however, Arlovski is now likely out until 2015, a fact somehow sugarcoated by the state of the heavyweight division right now. 

On one hand, the division needs legitimate contenders as badly as ever, so Arlovski's absence hurts in that regard.

However, with UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez injured and out until "March or April," now is the time for a fighter to heal up and come back at full strength. The car is already stalled and out of gas, removing a few spark plugs isn't going to impede its progress. 

For now, Fabricio Werdum, Velasquez's original challenger to the strap, will battle Mark Hunt for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 180, while No. 2-ranked Junior dos Santos will face No. 5-ranked Stipe Miocic Dec. 13 at UFC on Fox 13. 

Aside from those fights and a scrap between Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub at UFC 181 in December, the heavyweight division is relatively stagnant, and Arlovski should not lose much traction in the division during his time off. 

Who would you like to see him face upon his return?