UFC Fight Night 99's Artem Lobov says training camp not hindered by McGregor's big fight

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Artem Lobov insists he wasn’t lost in the shuffle at SBG Ireland training camp due to competing just one week after Conor McGregor’s historic champion vs. champion fight with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 this past weekend.

Despite McGregor bringing the majority of the top coaches from his gym to New York a little more than a week prior to UFC 205, Lobov said his training camp wasn’t hindered. In fact, the close proximity to McGregor’s fight, which he won by second-round knockout to become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history, was actually of benefit to Lobov, he said.

“Straight Blast Gym is a well-oiled machine that operates perfectly at all times,” Lobov told MMAjunkie at today’s UFC Fight Night 99 media day. “All the main work has been done already, all the sparring has been done already. At that stage, it’s just about finishing off the prep and making weight.

“I train with the best guys on the planet. If that doesn’t give you confidence, then I don’t know what else would.”

Lobov (12-12-1 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC), who fights Teruto Ishihara (9-2-2 MMA, 2-0-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 99 main-card opener on UFC Fight Pass at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, had only positive things to say about his preparation for the contest.

After starting his UFC career with back-to-back losses, Lobov finally picked up his first octagon victory at UFC 202 in August when he beat Chris Avila by unanimous decision.

Getting his hand raised against Avila ensured Lobov extended his UFC career by at least one more bout, and with that comfort, Lobov said he can finally show the full extent of his talents against Ishihara.

“After coming off ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and getting the three knockouts in a row, there was some sort of pressure on me,” Lobov said. “People were obviously expecting to see the knockouts, and then you start chasing the knockout, and that’s when it doesn’t come. There is always pressure fighting in the UFC. You always want to get the win. There is no other way around it. I feel just fine. I feel the same as always. My prep has been incredible, and ‘The Hammer’ is coming back – the knockout is coming back.”

Lobov said the matchup with Ishihara is perfectly crafted for him to score a stoppage due to strikes. The Japanese fighter has earned both of his UFC wins by knockout, but Lobov believes he has a style Ishihara hasn’t experienced before, and he plans on making an example of him.

“I just knew him as the (expletives) guy,” Lobov said. “But Saturday night, I look forward to making him my (expletive).”

For more on UFC Fight Night 99, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.