Monday Morning Hangover: What's next for Andrei Arlovski following third straight defeat?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 93 went down last Saturday night (Sept. 3, 2016) from inside the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

For complete coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 93: "Arlovksi vs. Barnett" fight card click here.

Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Ilir Latifi, who was viciously knocked out by Ryan Bader's knee in round two of their light heavyweight bout (see it again here). And Jan Blachowicz, who was out-gunned and out-muscled by Alexander Gustafsson in the co-main event of the evening (recap).

But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover now 48 hours removed from the show?

Andrei Arlovski.

Going into his heavyweight showdown against Josh Barnett -- which headlined the Fight Pass event -- "The Pitbull" was looking to stop the bleeding from a two-fight losing streak at the hands of Alistair Overeem and Stipe Miocic.

Unfortunately for Arlovski, things got worse before they could get better.

After going blow-for-blow with "The Warmaster" early in round one which saw them exchange knockdowns, Andrei looked to be getting the better of the striking department as the fight carried on. In fact, "The Pitbull," it seemed, had the chance to finish the bout on a few occasions.

But a resilient Barnett refused to waver, using his grappling to close the distance and eventually take the bout to the ground. And in round three, Josh managed to sink in a rear-naked choke to force the former heavyweight champion to tap.

See it again here.

Now, on the heels of three straight defeats, Arlovski hits a crossroads in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. But, according to the 37-year old, this isn't the end.

Speaking during the post-fight presser (video replay here), "The Pitbull" declared he would not be hanging up his gloves just yet, saying he still had "the fire in his eyes" to bang with the best of them in the 265-pound division.

The fact that the two men that beat him prior are facing off for the division strap at next weekend's (Sat., Sept. 10, 2016) UFC 203 event in Cleveland, Ohio, may be encouraging him to get back on the horse. That's because with a little twist of fate, it could have easily been him partaking in the big dance.

Nevertheless, Andrei will take some time off, regroup and head back to the Jackson-Wink MMA lab to see what's going wrong. Once he fine tunes his engine and gets things rolling again, the longtime veteran is determined to return with a vengeance for perhaps one final run at the strap.

Sure, it's tough to see a longtime veteran and fan-favorite get finished in three straight bouts, but like many before him, Arlovski isn't ready to go out like that. Because unlike his Jackson-Wink teammate Carlos Condit, he does feel he can hang with the elite.

That said, perhaps a showdown against the loser of the upcoming showdown between Stefan Struve and Ruslan Magomedov will be in order.

Unless, of course, you have a better idea?