Artem Lobov (Артём Лобов; born August 11, 1986) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist and bareknuckle boxer based in Ireland.
He previously competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and has most recently competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
2010
A professional since 2010, Lobov was also a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber.
He has competed for the ACB, Ultimate Fighting Championship as well as the British promotions Cage Warriors and Cage Contender.
Fighting out of Dublin, he is a member of SBG Ireland.
Lobov made his professional MMA debut with European promotion Cage Warriors in November 2010.
He lost his pro debut to Patrick Vickers via unanimous decision.
Prior to his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, he held a professional record of 11–10–1 with one no contest.
A natural featherweight competitor, he also competed at lightweight and welterweight.
2015
Lobov faced Chechen Rasul Shovhalov on January 31, 2015, at the ACB 13.
He won the fight by submission in the second round.
To get into The Ultimate Fighter house, fighters must compete in preliminary fights to advance to the finals.
Lobov lost his preliminary bout to Mehdi Baghdad, however coach and teammate Conor McGregor brought him back into the fight as each coach was allowed bring back one additional fighter who lost in the prelims.
In the round bouts he defeated Team USA's James Jenkins by TKO and repeated the outcome in the quarter-finals against Chris Gruetzemacher.
In the semis he knocked out Julian Erosa of Team USA to advance to the finals where he would compete against Team Europe's Saul Rogers, a fellow SBG competitor who trains out of their Manchester branch.
Due to visa issues Saul Rogers was removed from the finale and was replaced by Ryan Hall of Team USA.
Lobov faced Ryan Hall on December 11, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale.
Hall defeated Lobov by unanimous decision.
2016
Lobov next faced Alex White on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82.
He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
After the defeat to White, Lobov was reportedly in negotiations with a regional promotion in Russia.
He was given a lifeline when it was announced that Lobov would face UFC newcomer Chris Avila at UFC 202.
Lobov won the fight via unanimous decision.
Lobov faced Teruto Ishihara on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 99.
He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28).
2017
Lobov faced Cub Swanson on April 22, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 108.
He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night for their performances.
Lobov faced Andre Fili on October 21, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 118.
He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
2018
Lobov was initially scheduled to face Alex Caceres on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223, but was removed from the card for his role in the Team SBG bus assault.
This came after a confrontation on April 3, 2018, where Khabib Nurmagomedov and his entourage cornered Lobov and slapped him multiple times due to his relationship with Conor McGregor.
Lobov was scheduled to face Zubaira Tukhugov on October 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 138.
However, it was reported that Tukhugov was removed from the fight due his role in the UFC 229 post–fight melee, and he was replaced by Michael Johnson.
At weight-ins, Johnson weighed in at 147 pounds, one pound over the featherweight limit of 146 pounds.
As a result, the fight proceeded at a catchweight bout and Johnson forfeited 20% of his purse to Lobov, which Lobov later returned.
He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
2019
On January 29, 2019, it was reported that Lobov was released from UFC.
2020
On September 12, 2020, it was announced that Lobov had signed a one-fight contract with Arena Fight Championship.
He was expected to make his promotional debut against Ylies Djiroun on December 12, 2020, but the whole event was postponed due to multiple COVID-19 cases.
