Arena Fight Championship 2, an event that was slated to include the MMA return of Artem Lobov, has been cancelled due to several positive COVID-19 tests.
The promotion announced this unfortunate news in a public statement on Tuesday.
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“Some COVID-19 cases have been detected among the ARENA FIGHT Championship teams,” the statement read. “To maintain the safety of our fighters, our teams and our families, we are obliged to postpone AFC 2, initially planned on December 12, 2020.”
Unsurprisingly, Lobov is very disappointed by this development. The long-time Conor McGregor stablemate, who was set to take on Ylies Djiroun, reacted to the news in an interview with MMA Junkie.
“I got a phone call from the promoter saying that’s it, the show is canceled,” Lobov said. “I was gutted, of course. The camp wasn’t easy as it is between injuries and this and the other and COVID, but I got it done, as I always do, and was looking forward to putting on a great show. And, of course, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the payday, but what can you do? Life goes on. I will rebuild, I will recover, and I will be back stronger than ever.”
Lobov, who has a 14-15-1 overall record, competed in the UFC from 2015 to 2018. In that time, he amassed a 2-5 promotional record, defeating Teruto Ishihara and Chris Avila, and coming up short to top talents in Ryan Hall, Alex White, Cub Swanson, Andre Fili, and lastly, Michael Johnson.
After parting ways with the UFC, Lobov spent a three-fight stint in the BKFC ring, picking up a pair of close decision wins over Jason Knight and Paulie Malignaggi before succumbing to strikes in a rematch with Knight in his third and final BKFC bout.
Stay tuned for further updates on Artem Lobov and this foiled AFC 2 card as new details emerge.