IT LOOKS LIKE Artem Lobov will get one more shot to prove his worth to the UFC.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani this afternoon, a featherweight bout between Lobov (11-12-1-1) and Chris Avila (5-2) is being targeted for UFC 202.
The event, which will be headlined by the welterweight rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, is set to take place at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, 20 August.
A bout between Lobov and Avila — which Diaz suggested during a recent interview on The MMA Hour — would add an extra dimension to the rivalry between McGregor and the only man to defeat him thus far in the UFC.
Lobov has been McGregor’s main sparring partner at SBG Ireland in recent years, while Avila is a team-mate of Diaz at Cesar Gracie Academy in California.
Lobov reached the final of The Ultimate Fighter last December but has gone 0-2 in the octagon as a result of a pair of decision losses to Ryan Hall and Alex White.
Avila is on a three-fight win streak but has never fought for the UFC. Both of his losses have come via decision, the most recent of which was under the World Series of Fighting banner in December 2014.
