Artem Lobov

Artem Lobov (; born August 11, 1986) is an Irish-Russian former professional mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He previously competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and has most recently competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional since 2010, Lobov was also a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber. He has competed for the ACB, Ultimate Fighting Championship as well as the British promotions Cage Warriors and Cage Contender. Fighting out of Dublin, he is a member of SBG Ireland.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Lobov made his professional MMA debut with European promotion Cage Warriors in November 2010. He lost his pro debut to Patrick Vickers via unanimous decision. Prior to his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, he held a professional record of 11–10–1 with one no contest. A natural featherweight competitor, he also competed at lightweight and welterweight.

Absolute Championship Berkut Lobov faced Chechen Rasul Shovhalov on January 31, 2015, at the ACB 13. He won the fight by submission in the second round.

The Ultimate Fighter To get into The Ultimate Fighter house, fighters must compete in preliminary fights to advance to the finals. Lobov lost his preliminary bout to Mehdi Baghdad, however coach and teammate Conor McGregor brought him back into the fight as each coach was allowed bring back one additional fighter who lost in the prelims.

In the round bouts he defeated Team USA's James Jenkins by TKO and repeated the outcome in the quarter-finals against Chris Gruetzemacher. In the semis he knocked out Julian Erosa of Team USA to advance to the finals where he would compete against Team Europe's Saul Rogers, a fellow SBG competitor who trains out of their Manchester branch. Due to visa issues Saul Rogers was removed from the finale and was replaced by Ryan Hall of Team USA.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Lobov faced Ryan Hall on December 11, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale. Hall defeated Lobov by unanimous decision.

Lobov next faced Alex White on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

After the defeat to White, Lobov was reportedly in negotiations with a regional promotion in Russia. He was given a lifeline when it was announced that Lobov would face UFC newcomer Chris Avila at UFC 202. Lobov won the fight via unanimous decision.

Lobov faced Teruto Ishihara on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 99. He won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28).

Lobov faced Cub Swanson on April 22, 2017, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 108. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night for their performances.

Lobov faced Andre Fili on October 21, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 118. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Lobov was initially scheduled to face Alex Caceres on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223, but was removed from the card for his role in the Team SBG bus assault. This came after a confrontation on April 3, 2018, where Khabib Nurmagomedov and his entourage cornered Lobov and slapped him multiple times due to his previous comments on the fighter.

Lobov was scheduled to face Zubaira Tukhugov on October 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 138. However, it was reported that Tukhugov was removed from the fight due his role in the UFC 229 post–fight melee, and he was replaced by Michael Johnson. At weight-ins, Johnson weighed in at 147 pounds, one pound over the featherweight limit of 146 pounds. As a result, the fight proceeded at a catchweight bout and Johnson forfeited 20% of his purse to Lobov, which Lobov later returned. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

On January 29, 2019, it was reported that Lobov was released from the UFC.

Post-UFC career On September 12, 2020, it was announced that Lobov had signed a one-fight contract with Arena Fight Championship. He was expected to make his promotional debut against Ylies Djiroun on December 12, 2020, but the whole event was postponed due to multiple COVID-19 cases.

Professional Fighters League After a almost 7-years hiatus from MMA, Lobov was scheduled to return against Zubaira Tukhugov on October 3, 2025, at PFL Champions Series 3. However on September 30, the promotion announced that the bout was scrapped due to an injury Lobov suffered in training.

Bare knuckle boxing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Shortly after his UFC release, it was announced that Lobov signed a three-fight contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), with a clause to be able to compete in MMA also. He faced Jason Knight in the main event of BKFC 5 on April 6, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Lobov's next fight was against Paulie Malignaggi, with whom he had a physical altercation during the BKFC media day before his bout with Knight. Malignaggi has history with Lobov's training partner, Conor McGregor, and the bout between Lobov and Malignaggi was billed to be a "grudge match" and took place at BKFC 6 on June 22, 2019. Lobov won the fight via unanimous decision. After a consensus strong opening two rounds for Malignaggi, Lobov utilized forward pressure and volume to win in rounds three through five, earning a 48–47 on all three judges' scorecards.

Lobov faced Jason Knight in a rematch headlining BKFC 9 on November 16, 2019. Knight won by TKO via corner stoppage in the fifth and final round.

Mahatch FC Lobov faced Ukrainian 2012 Olympic silver medalist and professional boxer Denys Berinchyk in a bare-knuckle match at Mahatch FC in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 24, 2021. Lobov was knocked down in the third and fourth rounds and ultimately lost by TKO after failing to come out for the fifth round.

Championships & accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Cub Swanson

Bare-knuckle boxing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship BKFC Fight of the Year 2019 vs. Jason Knight 1

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Michael Johnson Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith

Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada Loss

Andre Fili Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till

Gdańsk, Poland Loss

Cub Swanson Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Win

Teruto Ishihara Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2

Belfast, Northern Ireland Win

Chris Avila Decision (unanimous) UFC 202

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Alex White Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Ryan Hall Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Rasul Shovhalov Submission (armbar) ACB 13

Płock, Poland Draw

Pawel Kielek Draw (majority) Fighters Arena 10

Bełchatów, Poland Win

Andrew Fisher TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 70

Dublin, Ireland Loss

Michael Doyle Decision (unanimous) Clan Wars 19

Belfast, Northern Ireland Loss

Andre Winner Decision (unanimous) All or Nothing 6

Leeds, England Win

Ali Maclean Decision (split) All or Nothing 6

Leeds, England Loss

Alex Enlund Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Warriors 65

Dublin, Ireland Win

Martin Svensson TKO (punches) Trophy MMA 3

Malmö, Sweden Loss

Christian Holley Decision (unanimous) OMMAC 19

Liverpool, England Win

Kamil Gniadek Decision (unanimous) Immortals Fight Promotions 1

Aberdeen, Scotland Win

Andy Green TKO (elbows) Immortal FC 8

Letterkenny, Ireland Win

Alex Leite Decision (split) Cage Contender 17

Newry, Northern Ireland NC

Artur Sowiński NC (overturned) Celtic Gladiator 5

Dublin, Ireland Loss

Jay Furness Decision (unanimous) Cage Warriors: Fight Night 7

Amman, Jordan Win

Shay Walsh TKO (punches) OMMAC 14

Liverpool, England Loss

Araik Margarian Decision (unanimous) Pancrase FC 4

Marseille, France Win

Kamil Korycki Decision (unanimous) Cage Warriors 46

Kyiv, Ukraine Loss

Saul Rogers Decision (split) Budo FC 3

Bolton, England Loss

Mike Wilkinson TKO (punches) Raw Promotions 1

Liverpool, England Loss

Steve O'Keefe Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Warriors 43

London, England Win

Uche Ihiekwe Submission (triangle choke) OMMAC 10

Liverpool, England Win

Dave Hill Decision (unanimous) Cage Warriors 41

London, England Loss

Patrick Vickers Decision (unanimous) Cage Warriors 39

Cork, Ireland Source: Win

Julian Erosa TKO (punches)

Win

Chris Gruetzemacher KO (punches)

Win

James Jenkins TKO (punches)

Loss

Mehdi Baghdad Decision (majority)

Source:

Bare knuckle record Loss

TKO (retirement) Mahatch FC 6

Kyiv, Ukraine Loss

TKO (corner stoppage) BKFC 9

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Win

Decision (unanimous) BKFC 6

Tampa, Florida, United States Win

Decision (unanimous) BKFC 5

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States