New York played host to a string of dramatic events over the past few days and Artem Lobov was right in the middle of the whole chaos.
Lobov’s confrontation with Khabib Nurmagomedov at the hotel in Brooklyn was the trigger to the whole fiasco. One thing led to the other and in the end, Lobov’s scheduled fight with Alex Caceres was cancelled and the Russian was banned from entering the arena for UFC 223 for his involvement in the bus attack.
There is a huge uncertainty regarding Lobov career now and we might get a clear picture in the coming days.
Before all the events ensued, we had managed to catch up with The Russian Hammer for a short exclusive interview where he talked about his ‘GOAT’ status on the internet.
For the uninitiated, Lobov is considered to be the ‘Chuck Norris’ of MMA and he has been the topic of various memes in the MMA community. When asked about the same, Lobov said that he is aware of all these and also said that he enjoys it.
Artem Lobov: I like it and I am well aware of it. It’s always nice to see and laugh about it. You have to be able to laugh at yourself first of all and I’ve always been able to do that. I take it as it is, it’s a bit of fun and that’s exactly how I see it.
Lobov had also talked about his willingness to fight anyone and dropped a major statement where he suggested that he is even ready to fight Heavyweights as he does not care about weight classes.
Artem Lobov: I will take what I am given. As for me, I never really cared about the weight class, I am ready to fight heavyweight if it needs to be. Whoever is there, whoever wants to fight me, I am there. My outlook has always been and always will be, who wants this?!
Currently holding a professional record of 13-14, Lobov is on a two-fight skid at the moment. He suffered defeats to Cub Swanson and Andre Fili in his last two fights and the showdown with Caceres was crucial for him. However, now that the fight is not happening, it would be interesting to see what the future holds for Lobov.
Nevertheless, during the interview, he was excited about the prospect of fighting in Russia if UFC decides to visit the country.
Artem Lobov: I feel I would have to be on that card. It would be a very special moment, the UFC has never been to Russia before and I don’t think it would be the same without me, so I hope I will be part of that card if that event takes place.
As for UFC 223, the pay-per-view will now go ahead with Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Al Iaquinta serving as the main event.
UFC 223 will be live and exclusive on 8th April 2018 7:30 am on SONY ESPN SD & SONY ESPN HD
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