Artem Lobov has balls of steel.
After dropping his first two bouts in the UFC, The Russian Hammer is finally stringing some wins together. The SBG featherweight outclassed Chris Avila at UFC 202 before scoring a dominant decision victory over Teruto Ishihara in Belfast to leave him riding a two-fight win-streak.
Lobov now has back-to-back wins under his belt for the first time since 2013 and after finally gathering some momentum it’s not inconceivable that he’s just a fight away from getting a spot in the top 15. One more win and we could be referring to him as a ranked fighter.
However, Lobov isn’t the type to take the easy option and rather than look for a favourable match-up in order to crack the top 15. He has been calling out some big names including two-time UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard and more recently, he told SevereMMA that he would be willing to duke it out with either Doo Ho Choi or Cub Swanson at the upcoming London card on March 18.
Anyone who caught those two warriors’ 2016 Fight of the Year contender at UFC 206 will know that this was gutsy move from Lobov. Not only are these two guys at the top tier of the 145 lb division, they have arguably never looked better than they did in their last trip to the Octagon.
WHAT AN INSANE FIGHT! Take a bow @CubSwanson and @KoreanSuperBoy7! 👏👏👏 #UFC206 https://t.co/ugCWd3ONDE
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 11, 2016
Swanson’s performance in particular was something special. It’s right up there with Cody Garbrandt’s dismantling of Cominick Cruz as one of the greatest singular performances of 2016. Just about everything he tried against the Korean Superboy paid off as he created a career’s worth of highlight reel footage in just 15 minutes of action.
Lobov name-dropping him after that showing really shows that he wants the toughest match-ups possible. The spoils for a victory over a top contender like Swanson would be directly proportional to the massive risks involved, but Lobov seems more than up to the challenge.
The call out didn’t go unnoticed either as Swanson, who had a pretty fiery beef with Lobov’s teammate Conor McGregor, issued his response on Twitter.
I've never liked Artem anyways lol
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) January 7, 2017
Mark it down as a success, because the message reached its desired destination. Although Swanson doesn’t appear to see Lobov as a serious threat, the move has created a dialogue between the two fighters on social media as Lobov fired back with some trash talk.
.@CubSwanson you’ll like me even less after I am done with you
— Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA) January 8, 2017
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) January 9, 2017
Swanson has more ambitious plans than taking on an unranked fighter as he is desperately trying to close in on that UFC title shot that has proved to be elusive so far in his career. He wants either of the division’s belt-holders next.
Anything can happen in this sport though. Injuries happen, promises don’t get fulfilled, fights fall through – if Swanson doesn’t get the opponent he wants next for whatever reason, the matchmakers will keep Lobov in mind.
At the moment I have my sights set on Aldo or Holloway
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) January 7, 2017
