Artem Lobov finally clears up retirement tease

After UFC Gdansk, Artem Lobov sent out a tweet that got some serious traction.

Artem Lobov suffered a tough loss to Andre Fili on the preliminary card of the Polish event. In the opening round, 'Touchy Fili' sent the 'Russian Hammer' crashing to the canvas. Although he survived the knockdown, he was unable to regain enough momentum to take any of the rounds. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 to the Team Alpha Male product. Lobov's second loss on the bounce saw him drop to 2-4 inside the UFC's Octagon. Shortly after the final buzzer sounded, he teased hanging up the 4oz gloves for good on social media. https://twitter.com/RusHammerMMA/status/921806070191968257

Clearing up the confusion

During a recent appearance on the MMA Hour, Lobov confirmed that he was considering a move away from the Octagon. With offers from K-1, boxing and other MMA promotions on the table, he was prepared for a change-up. A return to banking even crossed his mind.

"I more so meant maybe a change of sport. It's actually a difficult position to be in where I have other options. I have offers from K-1 promotions, I have boxing offers, other MMA organisations, I could go back into banking. So, it's kind of a difficult situation, obviously." "I'm always a realist. I assessed the situation realistically, I will always still love MMA and I enjoy fighting. I love fighting, but sometimes if I perhaps see a change of profession is in order, I could maybe go into a different sport like Conor did before."

https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/963422988581396481

That fire

When Lobov dug deep, he concluded that stepping away from combat sports was never really an option. The thought of rejoining the banking industry formulated in a moment of madness. You can take the fighter out of the fire, but you can't take the fire out of the fighter.

"That tweet was about that more than anything. I wasn't going to retire completely because I don't think I could actually do that. As long as I'm healthy and I'm able to fight, there's a fire in my heart that makes me want to get into that Octagon and throw down. I absolutely love doing that. So I don't really see myself being able to fully retire. I was just hinting at a change of sport or profession or whatnot." "When you lose a fight and you're at a very low point, strange things go through your mind. When I reassess and think a little bit more, banking is probably the last thing on my mind."

https://twitter.com/PaulMalignaggi/status/922647346944659456

The message

Lobov took it upon himself to contact the UFC following Gdansk. He let them know that he would have accepted a decision to cut him, considering his current form.

"I'll be honest with you, I messaged the UFC. I told them, 'Look guys, I understand with the position I'm in if I get cut here it's going to be a fair decision and I will take it on the chin. I wouldn't be happy about it, but what can I do? It's a fair decision.'" "Many people have been kept in my situation. There's multiple examples, but also many have been cut. So if I was to get cut, I would understand it and that would be fine with me."

https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/966283641356775424 Fortunately, the promotion weren't prepared to lose one of their most popular unranked fighters just yet. Lobov was subsequently booked against Alex Caceres for UFC 223.

"The UFC responded and said they were happy to keep me. I always bring it. I don't turn down fights. I'm easy to deal with. Whatever guy they want me to fight, it's going to be a yes from me. I don't bitch and moan about it and the fans love watching my fights."

He's not wrong, there is always a certain buzz around a Lobov fight in the UFC.