“This is the best season of The Ultimate Fighter.”
TUF 22 competitor Artem Lobov is in no doubt about the quality of fighter that appeared on the current season of the TV show.
Lobov’s fight to get into the TUF house was the most anticipated of the bunch because, being Conor McGregor’s main sparring partner, fight fans expected great things.
We got a terrific fight but The Russian Hammer came off second best in a decision and Mehdi Baghdad earned his place in the house.
But Lobov was handed a lifeline in Episode 2 when UFC president Dana White revealed that two losing fighters would be returning to the competition, with Lobov joining Team Europe and Johnny Nunez joining Team U.S.A.
“Initially after my fight, Dana said two of the guys from the European team were struggling with injuries so there might be an opportunity for me to come back,” Lobov told SportsJOE.
“The two lads actually turned out to be fine so my chance went out the window and I went home to Mac Mansion with a million things running through my head – Do I go home to Dublin and go to work in a bank? Conor told me he’d bring me back as a coach but I didn’t want to be a coach. I’m not a coach. I’m a fighter.
“Then a few days later, I got a call from the UFC and they said they were working something out to bring me back and I jumped all over it.”
Lobov is in no doubt as to why the promotion worked so hard to get him back into the tournament.
“I’m not stupid,” he said. “I knew that the decision to bring me back had nothing to do with my fight or my style.
“It was because I’m Conor’s friend and training partner. That’s why they brought me back.
“But I didn’t care. Sure, I’m close with Conor but I wanted the chance to prove myself and I accepted the challenge. I want to showcase my skills on the biggest stage of all and this is the start point.
“I didn’t hesitate at all when I got the phonecall. As soon as I found out that I was coming back, I was fired up and ready to start knocking people out!”
There was always the likelihood that the fighters who had won their preliminary fights, particularly Mehdi Baghdad, would resent Lobov for the fact that he was probably the beneficiary of some special treatment but Lobov revealed that there didn’t seem to be any bitterness.
“I only saw Mehdi’s interview last week and when I came into the house, he didn’t seem to mind. It could have been a little bit weird but everybody in the house is an experienced fighter so there was no hard feelings.
“There are three guys in the house who I’ve fought before in Mehdi, Saul Rogers and Martin Svensson because I’ve fought everybody in Europe. It’s no big deal.
“We’re all professionals and we’re not there for the drama. We’re there to fight.
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“I get along with everybody so I didn’t have any problems in the house but, at the same time, I was ready to fight everybody. In the house I was as friendly as could be but come fight time, I’m there to knock those same people out.”
Much has been made of the UFC’s decision to have their biggest star, Conor McGregor, feature as one of the coaches on TUF 22 in a bid to save The Ultimate Fighter franchise, the interest in which had dwindled in recent years.
And Lobov believes that Season 22 is the one that turns all of that around but for a reason other than the participation of The Notorious.
“I think this is definitely the one that saves it,” Lobov said. “I used to watch The Ultimate Fighter when I was younger and they’d bring in wrestlers all the time.
“Wrestlers would come in, hold people down and the UFC would complain that they’re not seeing exciting fights. But they’re wrestlers… That’s what they do. They fucking wrestle!
“This season they copped on and they brought in the Europeans. The fights into the house were the best ever according to Dana and he said it was a better season overall.
“What’s the difference?
“The Europeans! The UFC have missed out on some excellent Europeans because they don’t have the network in place over here to find the best guys. They don’t have a European matchmaker.
“But the Europeans are here now and we come to bang. We’re here to get rid of all those boring American wrestlers!”
