Featherweight contenders Artem Lobov and Andre Fili will meet in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 118 in October.
The UFC will return to Poland in October for UFC Fight Night 118, an event that will see Artem Lobov square off with Andre Fili on the main card.
The UFC announced the bout via social media, posting an official poster on their European Instagram page.
Lobov, who is preparing SBG Ireland teammate Conor McGregor for his boxing showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26, was offered to fight Fili on July 29 but turned it down due to the announcement of Mayweather-McGregor.
‘The Russian Hammer’ last fought at UFC Fight Night 108, losing to top-ranked featherweight contender Cub Swanson in the main event. Lobov, who entered the bout as a considerable underdog, was expected to be finished by ‘Killer Cub’ but surprised fans by making the bout competitive and going the distance.
Aside from being McGregor’s teammate, Lobov is perhaps most known for his stint on The Ultimate Fighter 22, losing to Ryan Hall in the lightweight finale in 2015. Following the loss, Lobov dropped back down to featherweight and is 2-2 in his last four outings.
Fili, a proud member of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male (TAM), has been hyped as a serious prospect by his teammates but has struggled to find his footing in the Octagon.
The 27-year-old entered the UFC on a nine-fight win streak but hasn’t put together any consecutive wins since 2013. Fili has lost to divisional standouts Max Holloway (current champion) and Yair Rodriguez, but holds wins over Gabriel Benitez and Hacran Dias. The Washington-born fighter last fought at UFC 214, where he lost to 29-year-old prospect Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision.
UFC Fight Night 118, which features Lobov vs. Fili on the main card, takes place on October 21 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.
UFC Fight Night 118 also features the following bouts, per MMA Junkie:
- Ramazan Emeev vs. Trevor Smith
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Devin Clark
- Oskar Piechota vs. Jonathan Wilson
- Andre Fili vs. Artem Lobov
- Dmitrii Smoliakov vs. Adam Wieczorek