Artem Lobov suffered a loss on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 118 in Gdansk, Poland on Saturday night in what was an entertaining bout with Andre Fili.
The SBG man once again showed tremendous heart and toughness as he survived some big shots, but he could have no complaints (apart from a close second round) as all three judges gave the nod to Fili with a 30-27 unanimous decision.
Lobov had training partner and good friend Conor McGregor in his corner for the fight and, as always, he was heavily invested in how The Russian Hammer was getting on.
Coach @TheNotoriousMMA. #UFCGdansk pic.twitter.com/MbEiD7HpCi
— UFC (@ufc) October 21, 2017
McGregor's emotional investment in the fight boiled over in the second round as refree Mark Goddard was forced to ask the Dubliner to relax and restrain himself at the side of the Octagon after a complaint from Fili's corner.
Marc Goddard just told McGregor to sit down - "What's gotten into you?" he asked the champion after stopping the action.
— Peter Carroll (@PetesyCarroll) October 21, 2017
That might be the first time in UFC history that a referee had to address someone in the stands. There’s only one Conor McGregor.
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) October 21, 2017
"My bad, my bad" #UFCGdansk @TheNotoriousMMA pic.twitter.com/IRjOMKPNtC
— UFC (@ufc) October 21, 2017
After accepting that he was a bit too enthusiastic he obeyed Goddard's orders, and even showed Fili some love at the end of the fight.
Respect from @TouchyFili and @TheNotoriousMMA after that one at #UFCGDansk! pic.twitter.com/cF4V774B2a
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 21, 2017
As McGregor was not an official a member of Lobov's corner team, Goddard was fully entitled to ask him to pipe down.
The loss was Artem's second in a row after he called out Cub Swanson for their fight back in April, leaving him with a record of 13-14, 2-4 in the UFC with each of those contests being a unanimous decision.
