Artem Lobov is extremely confident, to say the least, as he heads into his fight against No. 4-ranked Cub Swanson tomorrow (Sat. April 21, 2017) night in Nashville. Lobov is on a two-fight win streak after back-to-back losses in his promotional debut, and after an impressive win over Teruto Ishihara this past November, he’s taking
Artem Lobov is extremely confident, to say the least, as he heads into his fight against No. 4-ranked Cub Swanson tomorrow (Sat. April 21, 2017) night in Nashville.
Lobov is on a two-fight win streak after back-to-back losses in his promotional debut, and after an impressive win over Teruto Ishihara this past November, he’s taking a massive jump up in competition when he takes on ‘Killer Cub.’ Swanson is on a three-fight win streak and comes off of a Fight Of The Year candidate against Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206 this past December.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie Lobov revealed that he could have taken it slow and chosen a lesser ranked opponent to share the Octagon with next, but instead opted to ‘risk it all’ against Swanson:
“I wanted to risk it all, because if you never risk, you never drink champagne,” Lobov said.
Lobov’s close relationship as a training partner and friend to UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has showered the Russian with both an abundance of love and hate. He’s been under a lot of scrutiny since his bout with Swanson was announced, as many don’t believe he deserves the bout quite yet, but ‘The Russian Hammer’ is looking to prove those doubters wrong:
“There’s nothing more motivating than having the doubters there, and there’s nothing sweeter than shoving it straight in their face,” he said.
In Swanson’s last fight against Choi he was caught quite a bit in the slug-fest, which Lobov said isn’t going to fly when he meets the 145-pound veteran in the ultimate proving ground:
“He’s so wild, I can see myself catching him early,” Lobov said. “He gets hit in every fight. The last fight, it was a great fight, but he got hit a lot. And when you get hit by me, I just hope they’re able to wake him back up.”
“The way I see it, when it’s all said and done, there’s going to be a mountain of corpses behind me, and gold around my waist.”
Many scratched their heads once news broke that Conor McGregor’s longtime training partner (and unranked featherweight prospect) Artem Lobov would be main eventing UFC Nashville this weekend against No. 4-ranked veteran Cub Swanson. Swanson is currently on a three-fight win streak and is looking to make a statement against Lobov, who he says has been
Many scratched their heads once news broke that Conor McGregor’s longtime training partner (and unranked featherweight prospect) Artem Lobov would be main eventing UFC Nashville this weekend against No. 4-ranked veteran Cub Swanson.
Swanson is currently on a three-fight win streak and is looking to make a statement against Lobov, who he says has been running his mouth a little too much for ‘Killer Cub’s’ liking. Lobov is two for two in his UFC tenure, currently on a two-fight win streak after his unanimous decision win over Teruto Ishihara this past November in Belfast.
If you’re confused as to why an unranked featherweight is headlining a card against the No. 4-ranked 145-pound fighter in the world, allow Swanson’s recent comments to MMA Junkie clear things up for you as he explains why his matchup against Lobov actually makes sense:
“People just don’t think long-term about how the division is, and who’s going to be in line,” Swanson said. “You can’t kill off all of the No. 1 contenders with the two top-rising guys going against each other. Because then one wins, and that guy gets injured and you’ve got nobody. So they need to keep a couple of contenders in play. I understand how that game works. Fact of the matter is, I can’t fight a lot of the guys in the top 10 because I’ve already fought them.
“This is a guy that has a lot of hype around his name for whatever reason. He started talking crap and they said, ‘Do you want to fight him?’ And I was like, ‘Cool.’ I don’t like the guy already, so I don’t mind.
“Anybody that thinks that this fight shouldn’t happen, look at the reality of it: One, you don’t like him and you want to see me kick his ass – cool. No. 2: He gets a stunning upset, and boom, that’s a new guy that’s right there in the division that has a big following. Or three, we both show up and beat the crap out of each other, and it’s an epic fight. What’s wrong with any of those scenarios?”
Swanson is looking to avoid that ‘stunning upset’, however, as he knows he’ll have to train even more intensely than he did for his previous camp when as prepared for Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206. Swanson and Choi put on a ‘Fight Of The Year’ candidate that the veteran won via unanimous decision.
With Lobov’s hunger to make a name for himself in the sport mixed in with the fact that he’s training with one of the best gyms in the world at SBG Ireland, Swanson is is reluctant to take the Russian lightly:
“The reality of it is, (Lobov) is still getting better,” Swanson said. “Every fight that he’s had in the UFC, he’s made strides. He’s an awkward guy, but he’s getting better. He’s training with a good camp, he’s got good people around him, he’s motivated, he’s hungry.
“I had to watch film on him and always anticipate that he was going to be better. And then the fact that this is five rounds? I had to step up my training. So, everything I did last camp, I had to do more of this camp. There’s no way I can go into this fight taking it lightly – that would be stupid of me.”
Credit: Troy Taormina for USA TODAY Sports
Prior to his current win streak, Swanson was on a two-fight losing skid to two of the featherweight crop’s elite as he was defeated by both Frankie Edgar and now-interim division champ Max Holloway. Swanson lost both of those bouts via submission in the latter rounds of the contest.
Swanson cites a period of unhappiness and reluctance to compete as to why he suffered the string of defeats, and after having regrouped during a year-long layoff in which he partnered up with a sports psychologist he’s determined to put on an even better performance than he did in his last outing:
“I’m not going to go out there and beg to get title fights, because that’s not what makes me happy,” Swanson said. “I’m the best at this when I’m happy. I feel like my two losses, I wasn’t happy in those situations. They made me take fights that I wasn’t thrilled about. I let things get to me. I was emotional and detached from the love of this sport.
“That’s (why) within my year layoff, getting back to it and working with a sports psychologist and just remembering why I got into this, why I love fighting, I’ve been able to put on more great performances and I feel they’ve been better every fight. My goal is to go out there and put on a better fight than the last one, and if they decide to give me a fight, then I will show up.
“I know all I can do is try to be there at the right times, and try to fight at the right times, and make sure that, strategically, that I’m always in the situation to be considered. That’s all I can, do that’s all Im focused on.”
As to how he thinks the bout against Lobov will go, Swanson predicts ‘beautiful destruction’ when he takes centre Octagon across from Lobov and visualises capturing his first stoppage victory since July of 2013 (vs. Dennis Siver at UFC 162 via third round TKO):
“When I visualize it in my head, I see myself stopping him,” Swanson said. “Whether it be via punches or submissions, I’ve seen it all. I really just want to go in there and just flow, and not overthink it. Just take what’s there, show that I’m the better fighter, and if he’s game or if it’s a war, then so be it: five rounds of beautiful destruction.”
Artem Lobov is just two nights away from the most pivotal fight of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. This Saturday night (April 22), Lobov battles fourth ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight Cub Swanson. Not only will Swanson be the highest ranked opponent Lobov has faced, he’ll also be the only ranked opponent […]
Artem Lobov is just two nights away from the most pivotal fight of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. This Saturday night (April 22), Lobov battles fourth ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight Cub Swanson. Not only will Swanson be the highest ranked opponent Lobov has faced, he’ll also be the only ranked opponent […]
The UFC’s perplexing start to 2017 takes yet another head-scratching turn Saturday, when No. 4 featherweight Cub Swanson takes on the unranked and relatively unknown Artem Lobov in the main event of Fight Night 108.
Even in a year so far typified by my…
The UFC’s perplexing start to 2017 takes yet another head-scratching turn Saturday, when No. 4 featherweight Cub Swanson takes on the unranked and relatively unknown Artem Lobov in the main event of Fight Night 108.
Even in a year so far typified by mystery-grab bag matchmaking, this one feels notably random.
Swanson vs. Lobov would be right at home as the featured prelim on a Fight Pass internet stream or the curtain-jerker of a UFC pay-per-view. Making it the marquee attraction on this weekend’s six-fight main card at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on the other hand, is strange by any metric.
And people are taking notice:
So, what exactly is the UFC out to accomplish here?
It’s kind of a mystery, to be honest.
Swanson at least should be well-known to fight fans by now.
The 33-year-old Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter already has a decade under his belt competing at the sport’s highest level. He’s 9-2 in the Octagon dating back to the start of 2012, is riding a three-fight win-streak and most recently comes off a victory over hot prospect Dooho Choi after a Fight of the Year candidate brawl in December 2016.
Swanson is a likable, all-action striker whose nickname, full slate of tattoos and Killer Cub merchandise line could all add up to make him a modest little promotional piece in the UFC’s current 145-pound puzzle.
This will be the third time Swanson has headlined a UFC event, though the first time since 2014 and arguably the first time he’s been the obvious A-side. His first two gigs with top billing were opposite former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and longtime contender Jeremy Stephens, respectively.
Lobov doesn’t fit that mold at all, which makes him the more puzzling part of this main event tandem.
The 30-year-old Russian is to date best known for finishing as the runner-up in The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 lightweight tournament and for training alongside Conor McGregor at the Dublin gym run by John Kavanagh.
After Lobov defeated Teruto Ishihara via unanimous decision in November 2016, McGregor leaped over the Octagon fence to congratulate him inside the cage. Their celebration provided the highest-profile moment of Lobov’s somewhat under-the-radar UFC career to this point.
The victory over the colorful Ishihara was also Lobov’s best Octagon win and boosted him two in a row. Still, it’s unclear how he managed to tumble into a main event bout opposite Swanson.
It’s easy to speculate—or perhaps “kvetch” is a better word—that Lobov’s association with McGregor netted him this opportunity. The booking would also make more sense if it felt as though Lobov was a hot up-and-comer the UFC wanted to build into a star.
Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t seem like either of those things explain what’s going on here.
Lobov is just 2-2 in the UFC ,and his overall MMA record has remained patently mediocre during his near seven-year career. He’s just 13-12-1 (one no-contest), though he fought his share of tough competition in multiple weight classes early in his fighting life.
Also, Lobov is currently going off as nearly a 5-1 underdog against Swanson, according to OddsShark.
That all makes it seem like the most likely scenario is that this fight was set up as a showcase for Swanson and that Lobov is here for the express purpose of playing foil.
For his part, Swanson seems content to act as the seasoned veteran, scolding the less experienced fighter for not knowing how to behave on the big stage.
Swanson has said this week he doesn’t think Lobov would even be in the UFC without McGregor’s influence. Then he cracked off this gem during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, via MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall:
He’s trying to be somebody—like a lot of these young guys are trying to be somebody that they’re not—and he’s trying to talk crap. You know, he called me a b*tch and he said I had no balls. I feel like those two things aren’t true statements. If feel like if you’re going to call me out on something, call me out on something that’s true, but those aren’t true. To me it’s just ridiculous, and I’d like to make an example out of him.
Matchmakers attempting to raise Swanson’s profile within the featherweight rat race makes a certain amount of sense. Perhaps he’s even being groomed to be the next No. 1 contender after champion Jose Aldo and interim champ Max Holloway unify the titles at UFC 212 in June.
For as long as Swanson has been kicking around as one of the best featherweights in the world, it’s impossible to say he doesn’t deserve it.
But it would also be kind of strange that the UFC would just now start trying to promote the guy. Where was that kind of attention during the first six years of his career with the company?
And does it really help him if he beats Lobov on Saturday?
Even by the standards of the still developing WME-IMG era, this fight flies in the face of the UFC’s conventional wisdom, which has always been to give fans the best, most competitive matches.
Perhaps it’s indicative of a new matchmaking direction, where contenders are built through advantageous matchups and careful curation.
Or perhaps the UFC just needed a fight to fill this date and, as a rocky start to 2017 bleeds into a springtime slump, nothing better was available.
The UFC’s perplexing start to 2017 takes yet another head-scratching turn Saturday, when No. 4 featherweight Cub Swanson takes on the unranked and relatively unknown Artem Lobov in the main event of Fight Night 108.
Even in a year so far typified by my…
The UFC’s perplexing start to 2017 takes yet another head-scratching turn Saturday, when No. 4 featherweight Cub Swanson takes on the unranked and relatively unknown Artem Lobov in the main event of Fight Night 108.
Even in a year so far typified by mystery-grab bag matchmaking, this one feels notably random.
Swanson vs. Lobov would be right at home as the featured prelim on a Fight Pass internet stream or the curtain-jerker of a UFC pay-per-view. Making it the marquee attraction on this weekend’s six-fight main card at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on the other hand, is strange by any metric.
And people are taking notice:
So, what exactly is the UFC out to accomplish here?
It’s kind of a mystery, to be honest.
Swanson at least should be well-known to fight fans by now.
The 33-year-old Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter already has a decade under his belt competing at the sport’s highest level. He’s 9-2 in the Octagon dating back to the start of 2012, is riding a three-fight win-streak and most recently comes off a victory over hot prospect Dooho Choi after a Fight of the Year candidate brawl in December 2016.
Swanson is a likable, all-action striker whose nickname, full slate of tattoos and Killer Cub merchandise line could all add up to make him a modest little promotional piece in the UFC’s current 145-pound puzzle.
This will be the third time Swanson has headlined a UFC event, though the first time since 2014 and arguably the first time he’s been the obvious A-side. His first two gigs with top billing were opposite former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and longtime contender Jeremy Stephens, respectively.
Lobov doesn’t fit that mold at all, which makes him the more puzzling part of this main event tandem.
The 30-year-old Russian is to date best known for finishing as the runner-up in The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 lightweight tournament and for training alongside Conor McGregor at the Dublin gym run by John Kavanagh.
After Lobov defeated Teruto Ishihara via unanimous decision in November 2016, McGregor leaped over the Octagon fence to congratulate him inside the cage. Their celebration provided the highest-profile moment of Lobov’s somewhat under-the-radar UFC career to this point.
The victory over the colorful Ishihara was also Lobov’s best Octagon win and boosted him two in a row. Still, it’s unclear how he managed to tumble into a main event bout opposite Swanson.
It’s easy to speculate—or perhaps “kvetch” is a better word—that Lobov’s association with McGregor netted him this opportunity. The booking would also make more sense if it felt as though Lobov was a hot up-and-comer the UFC wanted to build into a star.
Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t seem like either of those things explain what’s going on here.
Lobov is just 2-2 in the UFC ,and his overall MMA record has remained patently mediocre during his near seven-year career. He’s just 13-12-1 (one no-contest), though he fought his share of tough competition in multiple weight classes early in his fighting life.
Also, Lobov is currently going off as nearly a 5-1 underdog against Swanson, according to OddsShark.
That all makes it seem like the most likely scenario is that this fight was set up as a showcase for Swanson and that Lobov is here for the express purpose of playing foil.
For his part, Swanson seems content to act as the seasoned veteran, scolding the less experienced fighter for not knowing how to behave on the big stage.
Swanson has said this week he doesn’t think Lobov would even be in the UFC without McGregor’s influence. Then he cracked off this gem during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, via MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall:
He’s trying to be somebody—like a lot of these young guys are trying to be somebody that they’re not—and he’s trying to talk crap. You know, he called me a b*tch and he said I had no balls. I feel like those two things aren’t true statements. If feel like if you’re going to call me out on something, call me out on something that’s true, but those aren’t true. To me it’s just ridiculous, and I’d like to make an example out of him.
Matchmakers attempting to raise Swanson’s profile within the featherweight rat race makes a certain amount of sense. Perhaps he’s even being groomed to be the next No. 1 contender after champion Jose Aldo and interim champ Max Holloway unify the titles at UFC 212 in June.
For as long as Swanson has been kicking around as one of the best featherweights in the world, it’s impossible to say he doesn’t deserve it.
But it would also be kind of strange that the UFC would just now start trying to promote the guy. Where was that kind of attention during the first six years of his career with the company?
And does it really help him if he beats Lobov on Saturday?
Even by the standards of the still developing WME-IMG era, this fight flies in the face of the UFC’s conventional wisdom, which has always been to give fans the best, most competitive matches.
Perhaps it’s indicative of a new matchmaking direction, where contenders are built through advantageous matchups and careful curation.
Or perhaps the UFC just needed a fight to fill this date and, as a rocky start to 2017 bleeds into a springtime slump, nothing better was available.
Cub Swanson understands why many believe his fight with Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 108 Saturday is a no-win situation. Swanson, a veteran of the sport, is putting his ranking and reputation on the line vs. Lobov on FOX Sports 1 from Nashville. But that’s fine by him, as he explained during an interview […]
Cub Swanson understands why many believe his fight with Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 108 Saturday is a no-win situation. Swanson, a veteran of the sport, is putting his ranking and reputation on the line vs. Lobov on FOX Sports 1 from Nashville. But that’s fine by him, as he explained during an interview […]
In Swanson’s last fight against Choi he was caught quite a bit in the slug-fest, which Lobov said isn’t going to fly when he meets the 145-pound veteran in the ultimate proving ground:
The UFC’s perplexing start to 2017 takes yet another head-scratching turn Saturday, when No. 4 featherweight