Former UFC fighter Artem Lobov extended a public olive branch to his longtime teammate Conor McGregor.
At the height of Conor McGregor‘s UFC superstardom, you’d be hard pressed not to see Artem Lobov at McGregor’s side in the gym, at press conferences, and in his corner. The two longtime SBG Ireland teammates were nearly inseparable during their combat sports careers.
But things between McGregor and Lobov took a dark turn in recent years, stemming from a major lawsuit filed by Lobov against one of McGregor’s businesses. The two fighters’ feud moved into the public eye when McGregor threatened Lobov in several viral social media posts in 2024.
As Lobov and McGregor both prepare for MMA comeback fights, things remain testy between the two sides.
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Lobov is set to return against Khabib Nurmagomedov’s longtime protege, Zubaira Tukhugov, at PFL Dubai later this year. It’ll mark Lobov’s first MMA fight since a loss to UFC star Michael Johnson in October 2018.
Lobov’s longtime loyalty to McGregor appears to be a thing of the past, but Lobov still has hopes that the two longtime teammates can rekindle their friendship.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Lobov was asked about where things currently stand between himself and McGregor.
“Obviously, things are not good between me and Conor,” Lobov explained.
“We always had each other’s back. I feel like I showed him unmatched loyalty, I would dare for him to name anyone from all of his mates now, before whenever, who was more loyal to him than I was.
“I did everything for him,” Lobov continued. “Whenever we would do camps, I was the only one to never accept a cent from him. There would always be money paid to everybody in the camps, and rightfully so, because it was hard work. But I’d always turn it down and say ‘Conor, I’m not taking this, and I’m not taking money from you’.”
Lobov then made an eye-opening claim about McGregor’s planned UFC comeback at The White House next year. He says if McGregor is successful in his latest comeback attempt, it would lure Nurmagomedov back to the Octagon for a rematch.
“Now, Conor couldn’t even make it to a press conference with a sore toe. That’s not the same Conor, this isn’t the guy that I know,” Lobov said.
“I want to see the old [Conor] back and then I feel everything would be sweet between us as well, we could get the band back together.
“If he was at 100 percent, we would be able to bring Khabib back as well. I think Khabib would come back for that fight if Conor was 100 percent, on his feet, and making real fights. He just needs one fight, knock a guy out, and then the whole world would be talking to Khabib to get him to come back.”
Conor McGregor picked to beat Michael Chandler in rearranged UFC fight
If McGregor follows up on his comeback plans, he could potentially revisit the opponent he was supposed to face at UFC 303 last year, before withdrawing due to injury. One UFC Hall of Famer believes McGregor would snap his losing skid in the process.
Michael Bisping feels McGregor would defeat Michael Chandler if they rescheduled their planned UFC 303 bout for the targeted White House card next year. Chandler, since ending his multiple-year wait for McGregor, is 0-2 in the Octagon with losses to Paddy Pimblett and Charles Oliveira.
McGregor’s last UFC win came against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 by first-round knockout. He lost back-to-back fights to Dustin Poirier in 2021, including when he injured his leg at the end of the first round at UFC 264.