Former UFC fighter Artem Lobov has explained why he's opted to come out of retirement for his upcoming PFL fight against Zubaira Tukhugov.
Throughout the course of his career, Artem Lobov has largely been known for his association with Conor McGregor. Of course, that's a friendship that has collapsed in the last few years, but that doesn't stop Artem from remembering what went down between Conor's team and Khabib Nurmagomedov's team back in the day.
Between Khabib and his teammates trying to intimidate Artem Lobov to the post-UFC 229 brawl that occured, Artem and Tukhugov have quite a history together - which is probably one of the reasons why this fight was booked in the first place.
In a recent interview, Artem Lobov spoke candidly about what he's decided to make his mixed martial arts return at PFL Champions Series 2.
Artem Lobov talks end of his MMA retirement
“I said it when I was retiring that look, this I'm retiring, but this fight here has to happen. You know, it's very personal and I have to I have to take that off, you know, I have to close that chapter otherwise it's always going to be in the back of my mind, you know, and I'm always going to be thinking about it. So I want to get in and get it done.
“So, I'm not sure if you can call this a comeback or what this is, but it's just something that I knew I was going to do. I said I was going to do it. It was always in the back of my mind.”