“Never pulled out in his life. A true fighter. A fighter’s fighter. A real man. So give him the fight.”
SBG Ireland’s Artem Lobov is itching to see teammate Conor McGregor back in the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
McGregor, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, was dominated and submitted by Nurmagomedov at the blockbuster UFC 229 pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas earlier this month.
McGregor has stated that he doesn’t mind waiting in line to fight Khabib, but Lobov believes ‘The Notorious’ is more than deserving of an immediate rematch.
Speaking to MMA Junkie ahead of Saturday’s bout with Michael Johnson, ‘The Russian Hammer’ hailed McGregor as a ‘fighter’s fighter’ who always shows up to fight no matter the opponent.
“I think that’s the fight that makes sense,” Lobov said during Thursday’s media day for UFC Fight Night 138. “He’s made everyone in the UFC, including Khabib, a lot more money than they ever have made, so why not give him this?
“He’s been the guy that always took everybody on. There’s been many changes of opponents for him. He never blinked an eyelid – just took the fights, no problem. Never pulled out in his life. A true fighter. A fighter’s fighter. A real man. So give him the fight.”
Lobov, who trains with McGregor under head coach John Kavanagh in Dublin, Ireland, would also like a longer training camp for the inevitable rematch.
“And of course, it requires a good camp,” he said. “It’s not an easy opponent. There were a lot of mistakes made. Many things need to be corrected. So there’s no need to rush.”
Although Lobov wants to see a rematch, UFC president Dana White would prefer to see Khabib defend his lightweight title against Tony Ferguson.
UFC Fight Night 138, which features Johnson vs. Lobov in the co-main event, takes place tomorrow, Oct. 27 at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.