Artem Lobov and eye sockets don’t get along.
The Russian Hammer broke James Jenkins’ orbital bone during his second chance in The Ultimate Fighter but it wasn’t his first experience of doing so.
Lobov, Conor McGregor’s main training partner, has revealed that his powerful striking once broke the orbital bone of The Notorious when he was preparing for a title fight in Cage Warriors.
“This was back in the day actually and it’s a crazy story,” Lobov explained.
“He [McGregor] was getting ready to defend his title against Jim Alers on Cage Warriors and it was a huge fight. He was trying to make it into the UFC.
“We were getting ready. This was back in the days when we didn’t really care that much about safety and we didn’t even wear headguards. We just used to go at it.
“We literally would come in on a Sunday, the two of us with no-one in the gym. We would lock the doors and we’d just go at it. No headguard, no nothing and small gloves. Survival basically!
“And in one of those sparring sessions, I hit him and I broke his orbital and he ended up out of the fight.
“It all turned out good and he fought for the lightweight title and that’s what got him into the UFC so it worked out in the end.”
