ARTEM LOBOV (13-15-1-1) IS no longer a member of the UFC roster.
Having competed seven times for the leading organisation in mixed martial arts, the Russian-born featherweight is departing to pursue other opportunities.
The 32-year-old told ESPN that the UFC planned to book him for a fight in April, but he requested to be released instead due to a desire to fight sooner.
Lobov, who’s a member of the Straight Blast Gym team in Dublin, added that he intends to make himself available for MMA, kickboxing and boxing bouts.
A long-time training partner of former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, Lobov graduated to the UFC from the regional circuit via The Ultimate Fighter.
He lost to Ryan Hall in the finale of the 22nd season of TUF in December 2015. Another defeat was to follow at the hands of Alex White, before Lobov recorded back-to-back victories over Chris Avila and Teruto Ishihara.
Three consecutive losses — against Cub Swanson, Andre Fili and Michael Johnson — left him with a UFC record of 2-5. All of his bouts under the UFC umbrella went the distance.
In the days leading up to UFC 223 in April of last year, he was involved in an altercation with Khabib Nurmagomedov and members of his team in a Brooklyn hotel.
Conor McGregor later attempted to attack a bus which was carrying Nurmagomedov, leading to the cancellation of Lobov’s fight against Alex Caceres and sparking bitter hostility between McGregor and Nurmagomedov.
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