Entering UFC Nashville, many had questioned the headliner matchup between Cub Swanson and Artem Lobov. The main issue that observers seemingly had was a mismatch between the number four-ranked Swanson, and the unranked Lobov.
In turn, many had predicted an easy win for Swanson, but instead they got a fight that went the distance that was even given Fight of the Night honors. Surviving the bout may seem like a victory in itself for Lobov, but for the SBG Dublin fighter, a loss is still a loss.
“I lost, so I don’t really see it probably that way,” Lobov said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting). “To me, I was going into the fight to try and win, obviously. That’s why I called for the fight. And I generally thought that I could win. Obviously I didn’t, so I’m still trying to get over that.”
“To me, if I’m going in, I’m going in to win,” he continued. “If you don’t win, well that’s it. Obviously, I’m not gonna dwell on it. I’m not gonna cry about it. I’m a learner and I’m a go-getter. I have to look over the mistakes, I have to fix them and I’m gonna keep moving forward. And hopefully one day I’ll meet Cub again.”
Now 2-3 in his UFC run, “The Russian Hammer” is still looking for matchups that could guarantee fireworks in the Octagon. Which is why he has his sights set on facing Doo Ho Choi next.
“I mean, why not? He was one of the guys that I called out originally,” Lobov said of “The Korean Superboy”, who bagged the 2016 Fight of the Year honors for his own fight against Swanson. “It was either him or Cub. Now we both lost to Cub, the two of us both went the distance, the two of us both got the Fight of the Night, so why not? It makes sense, no?”
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