Artem Lobov is firing back at the notion that Conor McGregor needs to leave coach John Kavanagh and SBG Ireland in order to beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
“Poirier vs. McGregor 3” will serve as the headliner for UFC 264, which takes place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., July 10, 2021, via ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV). Lobov — McGregor’s friend and long-time teammate — disagrees with anyone who believes McGregor is better off without his long-term camp.
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“Absolutely, he would never leave them, he’s a loyal guy,” Lobov told Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “But, the main thing is as well, hold on, guys, you mean leave the coach that helped him become the first-ever two-weight world champion? You mean that coach? The coach that helped him achieve something that nobody has achieved before. Is that the coach you want him to leave? Come on now. Yeah, this is a f—king tough game of course.
“We all talked about this,” he continued. “Sometimes Conor maybe wasn’t committed, wasn’t training as hard as he should have. We know what the issues are. It has nothing to do with the coaches. Now, he’s committed again, he’s training all the time, and he’s with the right people. John Kavanagh knows his every move. To switch coaches, if I were to switch coaches, I wouldn’t fight for two years then. You need two years to really understand the coach.”
Lobov (13-15-1-1, MMA) was unable to train with McGregor for UFC 264, as the former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder is training in Dubai. Lobov is currently preparing for a bare-knuckle boxing match vs. Denys Berinchyk for Mahatch FC.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to spar Conor because him and John Kavanagh and the whole main camp are away in Dubai, training,” Lobov concluded. “That is where the camp set with all the restrictions it was easier to do it there… We will get it done, I have no doubt that Conor will get the win and I will bring another win as well on July 24.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 264 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 264: “McGregor vs. Poirier 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
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