Conor McGregor’s long-time teammate Artem Lobov says the Irishman doesn’t need to switch camps to become a champion again.
Lobov’s comments come ahead of the blockbuster trilogy fight between McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The third meeting between the two lightweight stars will go down in the UFC 264 main event on July 10.
But despite becoming a UFC double-champion under the tutelage of John Kavanagh and the SBG Ireland team, many have suggested that McGregor needs fresh faces around him in order to rise to the top again.
Calls for a new camp increased following the 32-year-old’s defeat to “The Diamond” earlier this year. Lobov has previously said that McGregor didn’t give Poirier the respect he deserved when they had their rematch at UFC 257. The loss, which saw “Notorious” knocked out for the first time in MMA, meant that his only win in the sport since 2016 was a welterweight bout against Donald Cerrone.
McGregor will be desperate to have his arm raised when he faces the Louisianan once again. Having beaten Poirier back in 2014, he’ll be hoping to make the must-needed adjustments from their previous fight and end their rivalry on top.
And former UFC featherweight Artem Lobov is confident he can do just that with Kavanagh and SBG Ireland.
During an appearance on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com, the Russian suggested McGregor’s loyalty will always keep him at the Dublin-based gym which, given he became a world champion in two weight classes with the team, Lobov thinks is the smart decision.
“Absolutely, he would never leave them, he’s a loyal guy. But, the main thing is as well, hold on, guys, you mean leave the coach that helped him become the first-ever two-weight world champion? You mean that coach? The coach that helped him achieve something that nobody has achieved before. Is that the coach you want him to leave? Come on now. Yeah, this is a f*cking tough game of course.” (H/T BJPENN.com)
Lobov added that any issues McGregor has had with motivation, commitment and training has all originated from himself rather than any of his coaches.
“We all talked about this. Sometimes Conor maybe wasn’t committed, wasn’t training as hard as he should have. We know what the issues are. It has nothing to do with the coaches. Now, he’s committed again, he’s training all the time, and he’s with the right people. John Kavanagh knows his every move. To switch coaches, if I were to switch coaches, I wouldn’t fight for two years then. You need two years to really understand the coach.”
Despite being present in McGregor’s camps for some of the Irishman’s biggest fights, BKFC’s Artem Lobov has been unable to travel to Dubai to help out ahead of UFC 264.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to spar Conor because him and John Kavanagh and the whole main camp are away in Dubai, training. That is where the camp set with all the restrictions it was easier to do it there… We will get it done, I have no doubt that Conor will get the win and I will bring another win as well July 24.”
While McGregor gets set to walk to the Octagon in front of a sold out Las Vegas crowd inside the T-Mobile Arena, Lobov is also preparing for his next fight. “The Russian Hammer” is set to make his bare knuckle boxing return against Denys Berinchyk under the Mahatch FC banner.
Do you think Conor McGregor needs to switch to a different camp to become a world champion again?
