Artem Lobov will be competing on the main card of UFC Fight Night 99, but while he was preparing for the fight with Teruto Ishihara, UFC Featherweight Champion (and now UFC Lightweight Champion) Conor McGregor was preparing for his bout at UFC 205.
One would think that since both men train at the same gym, that Lobov would be affected by everything surrounding McGregor, but that simply wasn’t true.
“Straight Blast Gym is a well-oiled machine that operates perfectly at all times,” Lobov said to MMA Junkie. “All the main work has been done already, all the sparring has been done already. At that stage, it’s just about finishing off the prep and making weight. I train with the best guys on the planet. If that doesn’t give you confidence, then I don’t know what else would.”
Lobov defeated Chris Avila back at UFC 202 to earn another opportunity in the UFC, that opportunity comes at UFC Fight Night 99.
“After coming off ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and getting the three knockouts in a row, there was some sort of pressure on me,” Lobov said. “People were obviously expecting to see the knockouts, and then you start chasing the knockout, and that’s when it doesn’t come. There is always pressure fighting in the UFC. You always want to get the win. There is no other way around it. I feel just fine. I feel the same as always. My prep has been incredible, and ‘The Hammer’ is coming back – the knockout is coming back. I just knew him as the (expletives) guy. But Saturday night, I look forward to making him my (expletive).”
UFC Fight Night 99 takes place on Saturday, November 19 from the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland with Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall headlining.
