It has been most of a decade since Artem Lobov and Zubaira Tukhugov were central in an argument in Brooklyn, New York that would cause chaos at the UFC 229 months later.
A notorious time in the world of mixed martial arts, the rivalry of Khabib-McGregor was fueled when Nurmagomedov and his team, including Tukhugov, Corned Lobov during the UFC 223 Fight Week in April 2018, hit the SBG Ireland Fighter several times after the waste online and in the media.
Although the couple has had a very public fight since then, Lobov was a good friend and training partner from McGregor at the time. The incident led McGregor and his team on April 5, two days prior to the PPV card, a bus in the Barclay parking garage attacked in the Barclay parking garage, crushed a window and Michael Chiesa (who was cut) and Ray Borg (who were in his eye) in his eye.
Lobov and Tukhugov were later booked to fight in October, but after Nurmagomedov had fueled a Melee at UFC 229 attacking McGregor’s corner after submitting the Irish star, Zubaira entered the fight and was suspended. Now, all those years later, the couple will finally throw down for another promotion, part of the PFL Champions Series 3 card in Dubai next month.
“We have to finally finish this. It makes no sense to talk, let’s do the fights,” said Lobov during a recent media session with Cageside Press at hand. “We are hunters. We have seen them approach me with ten boys, so let’s see how things are going one on one.”
In the same face-off media session, Tukhugov agreed that the fight “had come for a long time. It is a promising fight for the public, for the audience, for both of us. We have a small thing to settle down, so I think it will be exciting for all involved.”
The Tukhugov of Dagestan, however, seems to have passed the rivalry that the PFL is undoubtedly on the banks to pull eyeballs. “I would not say that we are still the same level of bad blood. It is six years ago. I already let it pass a bit. If I had bad feelings, we would certainly have solved it within six years. So now it’s all pure sport.”
The same feelings were not shown by Artem Lobov, who would like to arrange an old score in the cage. “For me, how can it be over if we didn’t get the chance to actually fight? Of course many things have been said, many things have happened, but I feel that the story was not over yet. We have spoken a lot about it and we have to finish it with a fight. That is what we do, we are not as many as actions,” Lobov. “Lobov. “I feel sure that the story is not over until we go into that cage and turn on the fight. Then we get to see what is what is.”
“We saw a lot of action from Zubaira when he spoke to me and said that I had to say it to his own face if there were ten boys,” added Lobov, who had not participated for several years, added. “Well, it will be one-on-one, and I finally get the chance to say it to his face. And he can also say whatever he wants against my face, and we will finally close that chapter. In the right way; that is the way it should be done.”
“This is too big a story not to argue at the end.”
Lobov has not fought in MMA since 2018 and it was 2021 that he fought for BKFC the last time. Tukhugov has also been on the sidelines in recent years.
“Yes indeed. It is three years ago that I last fought, but I now have a great camp,” said Zubaira. “It’s no worse, no better than before. I’m back on track, we now have a complete camp and I’m looking forward to it.”
Lobov, meanwhile, was returned to going back to training for a live fight ‘interesting’, although he added that ‘to be honest with you, I enjoyed the free time. I felt I needed it. As you know, by the end of my career I was bare knuckle. Very intense sport, very demanding on the body and mentally.
And so Lobov was just finished with MMA and fighting, at least for a while. “I really needed the break, but after a while fighting is something in my blood. I love fighting.” That is what his fighting went, Lobov added. “Once I got a small break, I started to feel those feelings again. The adrenaline, who wanted to feel that adrenaline again. And this was clearly a big fight that I had to have. We just had to put this fight together, had to check that box.”
View the face-off interview of the full PFL Champions series with Artem Lobov and Zubaira Tukhugov.
#PFL #Lobov #Tukhugov #address #Grudge #Match #years #making