ARTEM LOBOV WILL get an opportunity to return to winning ways under the UFC banner.
Lobov (13-14-1) will take on the entertaining Alex Caceres (13-11-1) at UFC 223 in Brooklyn on Saturday, 7 April.
The booking was reported overnight by MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani after The Mac Life revealed plans for the match-up last month.
A Russian-born featherweight who’s an Irish citizen having spent most of his life in Dublin, Lobov will be making his seventh appearance in the UFC octagon.
Having lost his last two bouts — both via decision against Cub Swanson and then Andre Fili — the 31-year-old’s place on the roster could be at stake should he slip to another defeat.
However, Caceres is also under pressure to pick up a win. The 29-year-old Florida native has been beaten in three of his last four fights, with his most recent outing resulting in a split-decision loss to UFC debutant Guan Wang in Shanghai back in November.
As a team-mate of Conor McGregor’s at Straight Blast Gym, Lobov’s addition to the UFC 223 card could coax McGregor into being present in Brooklyn on a night when Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov look set to fight for the lightweight belt he currently holds.
