Artem ”The Russian Hammer” Lobov kommer lämna UFC om Dana White sparkar Zubaira Tukhugov.
Zubaira Tukhugov var en av männen som hamnade i handgemäng med den forne lätt- och fjärderviktsmästaren Conor McGregor inne i buren efter UFC 229. Detta efter att Khabib Nurmagomedov hoppat ut ur buren och attackerat McGregors lagkamrat och BJJ-tränare, Dillon Danis.
Irländarens lagkamrat Artem Lobov skulle ha ställts mot Zubaira Tukhugov under UFC Fight Night 138. Efter tumultet valde dock UFC att slopa matchen och hotade att de inblandade skulle förlora sina UFC-kontrakt. Lobov ställer nu ett ultimatum till UFC, likt det ultimatum som lättviktsmästaren Nurmagomedov ställde. Han hotar att lämna organisationen om UFC sparkar Tukhugov.
Genom ESPN sade Lobov följande.
If they cut him, I want to be gone as well. 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.
I’m only doing this (against Johnson) because I was already ready to go and I haven’t fought in a year. 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.
Lobov menar att ”respektlöse” Tukhugov inte skall få komma undan.
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. 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.
I was ready to leave the UFC. 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.
Lobov gick sin senaste match mot Andre Fili under ’UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till’ i Gdansk, Polen. Den matchen förlorade Lobov genom enhälligt domslut. Han har ett MMA-facit på 13–14–1 (1) och har besegrat sina motståndare på följande sätt, fyra genom knockout, två genom submission samt sju vinster genom domslut.
