Conor McGregor and Artem Lobov are kind of like the Ginger and Mary Ann of Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, Ireland, in that one of them is a world famous superstar while the other has a weird cult following.
Lobov was born in Russia before making his way overseas and because of those roots, found himself with an invite back to his birthplace to help teach Kremlin cops the nuances of mixed martial arts (MMA).
As for McGregor, he promises to follow “The Russian Hammer” in the very near future.
“One day soon I will visit Russia and potentially compete there for my Russian fans, alongside my brother Artem,” McGregor wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to all our Russian supporters for recognising our lifetime of hard work and supporting us along the entire way!”
That puts the popularity of this fighter in serious jeopardy.
Before McGregor can find his way to Russia, he must first compete stateside and defend his 155-pound title. After winning the strap from Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York, “Notorious” took an extended vacation while dabbling in the “sweet science.”
As for Lobov, he remains unbooked after falling to Andre Fili earlier this year.