Believe it or not, a featherweight fight between Cub Swanson and Artem Lobov will headline UFC Fight Night 108 in Nashville on April 22nd.
Swanson’s inclusion at the top of the bill makes sense – after all, he’s coming off a ‘Fight Of The Year’ victory over Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206 in December and is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that’s left him ranked No.4 in the 145lb division.
The decision to put Lobov in the main event against him is a headscratcher, however.
Lobov has won his last two fights in a row, but had suffered back-to-back losses prior to that. His career record now stands at just 13-12-1 (+1nc) and he’s nowhere to be seen in the featherweight division’s official rankings.
So how did he manage to suddenly find himself headlining a ‘UFC Fight Night’ show against a fighter on the verge of title contention?
It’s hard to say for sure at this stage. From a sporting perspective it makes no sense, so the fact that he’s a long-time teammate of Conor McGregor seems like it could have something to do with it.
The UFC haven’t exactly got off to a flying start in 2017, and announcing this baffling bout in the middle of UFC 208, one of the worst pay-per-views in recent memory, feels like another misstep.
