Artem Lobov, once a close ally of Conor McGregor, recently opened up about the Irish star’s lackluster preparation for his blockbuster fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Lobov said McGregor’s casual approach to training led to his defeat at UFC 229 on October 6, 2018. The loss still stings McGregor, and Lobov believes a focused effort could have changed the result.
McGregor’s Party Mindset
Lobov revealed McGregor barely trained for the lightweight title fight.
“I know that fight bothers Conor because he didn’t train at all for that fight,” Lobov told Ariel Helwani. “Twice a week he was training for Khabib. I tried to get him to [Las Vegas] and said ‘We have to do this,’ and he told me to f–k off. He just didn’t want to do it”
He attributed McGregor’s mindset to distractions outside the cage.
“He was in the wrong mindset, the party mindset,” Lobov added. “Training twice a week and that’s it. So when I saw the fight, I was like ‘Oh my god, if only you trained four times a week, you probably would’ve beaten him. Imagine him in a full camp. The Conor that fought Eddie Alvarez, imagine that Conor fighting Khabib. That’s what I want to see”.
Lobov pointed to McGregor’s sharp performance against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016, where he won the lightweight belt, as the version that could have challenged Nurmagomedov.
At UFC 229 in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov controlled McGregor for most of the fight, securing a fourth-round neck crank submission to defend his lightweight title. The event, held at T-Mobile Arena, drew a record-breaking 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, making it the UFC’s biggest event ever (UFC.com). A chaotic post-fight brawl, where Nurmagomedov attacked McGregor’s team outside the cage, led to fines and suspensions for both fighters from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Lobov remains hopeful for McGregor’s future.
“I would love to see him come back,” Lobov said. “Because I feel that if he was at 100 percent, we would be able to bring Khabib back as well”.
The McGregor-Nurmagomedov feud was one of MMA’s most intense. In April 2018, Nurmagomedov confronted Lobov at a New York hotel, reportedly slapping him during a heated exchange. McGregor responded by attacking a bus carrying Nurmagomedov at UFC 223’s media day, smashing a window with a dolly and injuring fighters. The incident, which led to McGregor’s arrest, fueled massive hype for their UFC 229 showdown. Nurmagomedov later claimed UFC executives, including Dana White, amplified the feud for profit.
McGregor’s preparation was hampered by his August 2017 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, which earned him over $100 million. After UFC 229, he fought sparingly, losing twice to Dustin Poirier and suffering a leg injury at UFC 264 in July 2021. Lobov, now estranged from McGregor due to a lawsuit over Proper 12 whiskey, is scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov’s teammate Zubaira Tukhugov at a PFL event in October 2025. McGregor, 36, plans a UFC return in 2026, with no confirmed opponent.
