He’s back.
Artem Lobov was thrown a lifeline after being eliminated in the preliminary fights of The Ultimate Fighter 22.
The SBG prospect was defeated by Mehdi Baghdad in the fight to get into the TUF house before Dana White offered him and Johnny Nunez a shot at redemption.
Lobov was pitted against Team U.S.A. fighter James Jenkins for the seventh fight of the current season and the Russian import grabbed his second chance with both hands.
Lobov started first, using a strong lead right hand and outside leg kick to force Jenkins to question his entry.
The Russian Hammer then started sneaking an uppercut through Jenkins’ guard and he looked noticeably more comfortable than the American as the minutes ticked by.
Lobov dropped his hands to his hips, much to the concern of McGregor, and ate a few unnecessary shots before throwing a short right hook that dropped Jenkins for a moment.
A cut above Jenkins’ right eye led to a brief bit of respite as the doctor examined the placement of the wound.
Lobov’s disdain for his opponent’s striking was clear for all to see as he started telegraphing shots without fear of being countered.
It was a devastating right hook that was the beginning of the end for Jenkins as he was caught flush before the SBG fighter finished with ruthless ground and pound and moved forward to the quarter-finals.
Due to the swiftness of Lobov’s knockout, there was time enough for another fight on the eighth episode of The Ultimate Fighter and McGregor chose Swedish lightweight David Teymur to take on Johnny Nunez.
The fight got underway without Coach McGregor in the bleachers as the Irishman was late for the 4 o’clock time scheduled for the opening bell.
Team U.S.A.’s Nunez came out looking to force Teymur backwards and rushed into a number of early exchanges.
Teymur stood flat-footed which allowed Nunez an easy entry and he clinched up with his opponent before Teymur hit a lovely switch.
A sinking knee to the body forced Nunez to his back and the bout looked close to conclusion as the Swede started teeing off on the mat.
Nunez came firing back and sent Teymur to the ground with a leaping right hook and landed in guard.
Again, the fight went back to its feet and Teymur’s knees to the solar plexus looked to be wearing on Nunez who finally decided to shoot on a takedown and wound up in mount after taking advantage of a sloppy attempt from Teymur to get back to guard.
Both men looked visibly fatigued at the start of the second round as Teymur went right back to work punishing the body and did well to defend a takedown from the wrestler.
A Teymur flying knee probably wasn’t the best idea as he was taken down once more and his lack of energy became clear, failing to sweep as efficiently as he did in the first.
Nunez took mount again but, all credit to Teymur, he worked his way back to a standing position and poured it on for the final 30 seconds and forced the fight to a deciding third round.
Coach Conor showed up at the beginning of the final round and his presence may well have energised Teymur who threw the kitchen sink at his opponent for the final five minutes, connecting with switch kicks and hard knees to Nunez’s face.
Nunez swept and finished the fight in half-guard but the damage inflicted by Teymur in the early stages of the round was enough to earn him a deserved decision on the judges’ scorecards.
The eighth episode of the season saw McGregor’s Team Europe put some breathing space between the teams for the first time as the score now stands at Europe 5 U.S.A. 3.
Retaining control, The Notorious elected Spanish lightweight Abner Lloveras to face Jason Gonzalez in next week’s episode.
Catch The Ultimate Fighter at 3am GMT every Thursday morning on BT Sport (part of the Setanta pack in Ireland). Repeated at 10pm GMT on Thursdays.
