Artem Lobov: “If UFC Cuts Zubaira Tukhugov, I Want To Be Gone As Well, I Can Fight Him In Any Other Promotion!”
The drama between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov team is far from over! It looks like “The Russian Hammer” is desperate for revenge! UFC threatened to release Zubaira Tukhugov from the promotion for his role in UFC 229 incident. But the situation heated up when Khabib threatened to break UFC contract if that happens! Now Artem Lobov decided to do the same thing! Warning, this is not a joke!
Zubaira Tukhugov and Artem Lobov were slated to fight at the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 138 this weekend in Moncton, Canada. Tukhugov is removed from the fight card, but Artem Lobov wants to fight him inside the Octagon badly. He can do it in some other promotion if UFC doesn’t want to let him fulfill his goal. (via ESPN.com)
“If they cut him, I want to be gone as well,” Lobov said. “I will fight him in ACB, Bellator or any league he wants to do it. But I will get him.”
“It has to be done inside the Octagon. I want to look this man in the eyes, one-on-one. Once you’re inside that Octagon, it’s one-on-one. Your skill versus his skill. Your heart versus his heart. I want to test his heart in the Octagon. I want to see what he’s got.”
But in the first place, Artem Lobov needs to defeat Michael Johnson, who stepped in as a replacement for “Kabob’s friend”. Johnson is a very difficult rival. He defeated Andre Fili at the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 135 via split decision. Yet, Lobov says he needs the victory over Johnson to help “Warrior” get back inside the Octagon.
“I’m only doing this (against Johnson) because I was already ready to go and I haven’t fought in a year,” Lobov said. “For many reasons, I have to take this fight. But make no mistake, I want Zubaira.
“We need this win, but I don’t feel the pressure. To me, this is one step closer to getting Zubaira back. There is nothing else on my mind. That’s the only thing I can even think of. I’m not going to rest, I’m not going to sleep, until I get him back.”
Khabib called Conor “a chicken” after his win over Michael Johnson at UFC 205 on November 12, 2016. Artem Lobov started trolling “The Eagle” in Russian media for pulling out of the fights. Khabib and his teammates surrounded Artem Lobov in the hotel. The current UFC Lightweight champion grabbed his throat.
Lobov confessed later that Conor McGregor was the only person who supported him. Actually, Conor wanted to protect his friend at all costs.
“I had a million people messaging me and telling me to do this or do that. Not a single person gave me proper advice. Not a single person gave me proper support. There was only one message on my phone that was a good message, and that was from Conor. All it said was, ‘I’m on the way. I’m coming over. And I don’t give a f— what, who, why, when. I don’t give a f—. You’re my brother and I’m on the way over.'”
One day later, Conor McGregor launched his famous UFC 223 hooligan bus attack. Conor and his team were looking for revenge. Unfortunately, “The Eagle” has already been on the bus. Conor threw a metal dolly and broke the glass.
As an epilogue, Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg had to withdraw from the event due to lacerations. Rose Namajunas still visits therapist on a regular basis. Artem Lobov was removed from UFC 223 fight card. Conor McGregor was arrested but his law team reached a plea deal later.
“I spent my whole life trying to help Conor, and he’s done the same for me,” Lobov said. “And here I am sitting in a hotel room and because of me, he’s in prison. Of course, I felt horrible. When it first happened with Khabib, I didn’t think it could get any worse, and it did get worse.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor at the main event of UFC 229 via fourth-round submission. As well as you remember, Khabib attacked Dillon Danis after the fight. Zubaira Tukhugov leaped over the fence and sucker punched “The Notorious”. “Warrior” even bragged on social media about his “heroic act”. That kind of disrespectful behavior obviously made Artem Lobov angry.
“The one thing that I did not like is the fact that after all of this happened, Zubaira sat down in front of his phone and recorded the video bragging about punching a guy who had just gone four rounds and just fought, hitting him from the side when he wasn’t looking,” Lobov said. “Do you think that’s an honorable thing to do? To sit down about bragging about hitting someone from behind? That’s not an honorable thing to do. They must get it for that.”
Artem Lobov got many offers from other promotions. Yet, he feels that he needs to settle things up with Zubaira Tukhugov. Despite he remained in UFC to fight Zubaira, Khabib’s comrade is pulled out!
“I was ready to leave the UFC,” Lobov said. “But when I sat down, I said, ‘I have to fight Zubaira. That’s the only fight that makes sense to me. I don’t want to fight anyone else. It doesn’t matter how much they pay me.’
“As a result, I ended up staying with the UFC and taking the fight with Zubaira. Then he got pulled from the fight. I thought, ‘oh my god, I stayed with the UFC and took a pay cut compared to other offers just to fight him and now I don’t get to fight him?’ I have to get him back.”
Do you think we will see the fight between Artem Lobov and Zubaira Tukhugov in the future? After all, UFC didn’t pay much attention to Khabib’s threats. Lobov is McGregor’s comrade, and Dana White is McGregor’s fan! Maybe this will at least make UFC reconsider Tukhugov’s penalty!
