SBG vs. Stockton, imagine it!
It’s so rare for two fighters from the same team to fight two fighters from an opposing team on the same card but it’s in the works for UFC 202, according to Nate Diaz.
“He (Dana White) was like ‘let’s bring your boy Chris (Avila)’. If he wants to fight, we can put him up against Artem (Lobov). They’re talking about bringing Chris with me. I don’t necessarily want to fight on the same card as my partners but if they want him in, let’s bring him in. He’s a hitter though.”
Diaz made the claim on a special episode of The MMA Hour and it’s a fight that interests SBG featherweight Lobov.
“It’s always interesting for fights to have underlying stories,” Lobov told SportsJOE. “That’s why rematches are so fascinating and why there was so much hype about Diaz vs. Conor II at UFC 200.
“After all that Diaz was saying about how his training partners are better than Conor’s, this is the chance to put it to the test.
“This would be the opportunity to compare team vs. team and I don’t know much about Chris Avila but I’m definitely open to fighting him.”
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The talk of Lobov welcoming Cesar Gracie fighter Avila to the Octagon is not new and was, in fact, referenced by Nate Diaz in the run-up to his UFC 196 victory over Conor McGregor.
“I didn’t see the interview between Ariel Helwani and Nate live but I saw it afterwards,” Lobov continued.
“I’ve heard them say it before. Before the last fight, Nate was talking about me possibly fighting some training partner of his.
“I guess, at the moment, that once any decision on Nate vs. Conor is confirmed then I suppose my fight will be added next.
“Nate talks a lot of crap about me and Conor so it would be nice to take on one of his guys.”
Theoretically, it would be possible for another SBG fighter to take on another Cesar Gracie competitor at UFC 202 as Nick Diaz’s ban is up this summer and, if he’s looking for a ranked opponent at welterweight, Gunnar Nelson is an option if the gym vs. gym theme is to be explored even further.
“That would be amazing,” Lovov said. “Team vs. team through the whole card, I’m not sure how possible it would be but I know that Gunnar would be up for it.
“I just don’t know how interested Nick would be or what his situation is because I know the Diaz brothers like the big money fights at this stage of their career. It would be huge though and would make the whole card pretty interesting to watch.”
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Avila is currently slated to compete at Bellator 156 against Justin Smitley and, with the ongoing negotiations between Nate Diaz and the UFC, there is still plenty of legwork that needs to be done before UFC 202 starts taking shape with the potential team vs. team theme but, whoever Lobov fights next, he’s aware that it’s very much last chance saloon for him following two straight defeats in the Octagon.
“There’s always pressure for us,” he said. “But of course I know that if I don’t win my next fight then it will be my last in the UFC.
“It’s not like in football where, if you have a bad game, you play again next week. In fighting, if you lose then it’s a long time before you get the chance to win again.
“Not only that but so many things can go wrong and a lot of things have to be right on the night of the fight for everything to fall into place.”
