Michael Johnson has agreed to step in on short notice to fight Artem Lobov at UFC Fight Night 138 in Moncton, Canada on October 27th.
Johnson comes in on less than two weeks notice for the co-main event fight as a replacement for Zubaira Tukhogov, who is currently under suspension for his part in attacking Conor McGregor inside the Octagon following UFC 229 recently, which has left him ineligible to compete at the show.
For Johnson this is an opportunity to rack up another victory after breaking a lengthy losing streak last time out with a split decision victory over Andre Fili.
Before that, Johnson had suffered three losses in a row against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje and Darren Elkins – part of a run that’s seen him win only two of his last seven fights.
As for Lobov, he’s best known as being one of the main training partners and friends of Conor McGregor, and he’s coming off two losses in a row against Cub Swanson and Andre Fili to take his overall UFC record to just 2-4.
Lobov was a major part in the bad blood that boiled over at UFC 229 given that a confrontation between himself and Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier in the year was the catalyst for McGregor to retaliate with an infamous attack on a fighter bus days prior to UFC 223.
Johnson Vs Lobov features on a UFC Fight Night 138 card that is headlined by a light-heavyweight fight between Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith.
