Exciting.
Conor McGregor is set to be in the crowd at UFC 223 for Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov showdown for the interim lightweight championship after confirmation that the Irishman’s teammate Artem Lobov will be taking on Alex Caceres.
Ferguson v Nurmagomedov will be the headline fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on April 7, but plenty of eyes will be on McGregor, who is expected to fight the winner.
As well as that, McGregor will be in the crowd to support Lobov, his training partner at Straight Blast Gym, although he probably won’t be as vocal as he was during the Russian Hammer’s bout with Andre Fili in October, when referee Marc Goddard told McGregor to refrain from coaching Lobov.
#UFC223 is shaping up! @RusHammerMMA vs @BruceLeeroyGlow just added to the UFC #Brooklyn card https://t.co/Dq6c52qzv6 pic.twitter.com/QLUTf4LilJ
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 14, 2018
Lobov will be looking for his first win since beating Teruto Ishihara in Belfast back in November 2016. Losing to Cub Swanson last April before the Fili fight means he’s currently on a two-fight losing streak.
Lobov (13-14-1) v Caceres (13-11-1) being added to UFC 223 only further intensifies the excitement surrounding the event, providing further encouragement for McGregor to attend. ‘The Notorious’ will go cageside for most of Lobov’s fights and is very often a vocal presence.
Indeed, the Dubliner has been teasing his fans with a possible UFC return on Twitter recently.
On Tuesday night, the 29-year-old posted a video montage of himself walking into arenas before various fights. McGregor hasn’t fought in the Octagon since his second-round knockout win over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016.
Walking into the place of battle like it is the place of breakfast. pic.twitter.com/xR7ErsyAtB
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 14, 2018
