UFC veteran Artem Lobov may have never been the best in the world, but he always showed up to put on a fight, whether he was winning or losing.
Despite setbacks over the years, Lobov still saw massive potential in himself, especially when it came to chasing the kinds of dreams that he felt would validate his place in combat sports history. But that all changed after falling short in what would ultimately become the final fight of his career.
“Every other time, even when I lost, I was always working towards a certain goal,” Lobov explained on The MMA Hour. Lobov explained that there was always a huge, large goal in my sights. My last goal was to get into boxing, and make a seven-figure income. It felt as if a fight against Berinchyk would do it for me. He was an Olympic silver medalist, undefeated in boxing, WBO international champion and all this. It was clear to me that if I could beat him in bare-knuckle, this would be it. I think this is my ticket to the boxing match, and to the seven-figure fight.
“When this didn’t happen, I failed, I was like I know I can continue fighting, but it’s going to be fighting just to get some money, just to get by. There was no more big goal I was going to be able to achieve anymore.”
Lobov fell to Berinchyk in a bare-knuckle fight in the Ukraine, which marked his second straight defeat in that sport after previously losing by TKO to Jason Knight in the BKFC.
After the Berinchyk loss, Lobov was forced to reassess his place in the sport and whether he should continue to compete without the same kind of goals that had driven him throughout his career.
” This was a big decision for me,” Lobov stated. “I feel like I’m not going to be one of those guys that comes back in and out of it. It was a decision that I thought about for a long time. This was an extremely difficult decision. Fighting is something I love. I love this sport. This is my life. When I made that decision and it was like f*ck, this is it. It felt like all my dreams had [been] crushed. Although I am aware of my losses, it was only a small setback. It is a minor setback. I’ll get better. I’ll train harder. I’ll go back. I’ll try again. I’ll come back. I’ll achieve my goals.
” I came to this realization when I was about to retire. You will not achieve those goals. You will never achieve those goals. It wasn’t possible. You didn’t manage to get where you wanted to get. You are done as a fighter. Time to hang them up, Artem. Bye-bye.’ It was an emotional time for me.”
Although he did not have the record to make him a threat to UFC champions, Lobov was a big draw for MMA and bare-knuckle fights.
In 2019, Lobov engaged with former boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi at the BKFC in what was one of the biggest fights of 2011. This resulted in a settlement of a longstanding feud that began with Conor McGregor, a former UFC two-division champion.
Unfortunately, Lobov never tasted victory again during his career and was forced to look at the hard reality that he was facing the potential for diminishing returns if he continued fighting.
“I’m 35. Lobov stated that he felt like he had to start over and work toward something. “The time is a little bit pushing on me here. Another reason was the brain damage. This has been in the news for the past couple years. This is something I paid close attention to and realized I would need to take care of my own health. I won’t make enough to [last] my lifetime fighting for it, so I will have to do something. I also need to keep my brain healthy.
“On top of that, I have a kid now, who I would like to be a good father to. Be a grandfather to his children one day. So all these things combined, I was just like mate, it’s probably time to get up and go pursue something else while you’re still young and energetic and know what’s what. This is why I took that .”
decision.
While he’s resolved to stay retired, Lobov admits there are a couple of scenarios that would make him dust off his gloves and step back into the cage or ring again. Lobov doesn’t expect either one of these fights, but it is something he knows will happen.
“There are only two options for me to fight again,” Lobov said. “The [Zubaira] Tukhugov fight, that goes without retirement. It doesn’t matter if you’re retired. No matter how old I get, that fight is what I want. And if somebody wants to make my dream come true and offer me seven figures, then it’s going to change things up a lot.
” Many of the things I mentioned about my retirement will no longer be a major part of my life. You could make seven figures to help your family plan for their financial future. That’s huge for me. [would] also opens up many doors. These are the two main reasons I’d consider returning. Tukhugov’s fight or seven-figure paycheck
