What's next for Artem Lobov?
'The Russian Hammer' suffered his second consecutive unanimous decision defeat in Las Vegas tonight and it's a very real possibility that his next fight will be outside the UFC.
Prior to Saturday night,
Lobov had admitted that he and opponent Alex White were fighting for their UFC careers, saying "whoever loses this fight goes out."
https://twitter.com/UFCNews/status/696128327975772160
And it was he who was on the losing end when fight night rolled around.
Lobov took the centre of the octagon early, looking for his patented one punch knockout and had some success early on in the striking realm, with his aggression forcing White to second-guess himself.
But White stole the round with a late takedown and a final minute of complete control.
https://twitter.com/UFCEurope/status/696128244630704130
Lobov, with just John Kavanagh in his corner, knew he had to up the ante in the second round but that ended up being his worst five minutes as he struggled with the timing of White, who had found his rhtyhm.
White picked combinations while Lobov loaded up on attempted knockout blows but, again, a takedown on the four-minute mark earned White the second round.
Coach Kavanagh didn't mince his words going into the final stanza as he instructed Lobov to get the finish and he looked for just that.
In fact, towards the end of the final round, the reckless abandon shown by 'The Russian Hammer' was paying dividends and White's corner were shrieking for another takedown.
It didn't arrive and White stayed just out of danger before all three judges awarded him a 30-27 victory.
