Artem Lobov expected to return to MMA against Zubaira Tukhogov at planned PFL event

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Artem Lobov is making his return to combat sports with a fight booked against longtime rival Zubaira Tukhogov planned for a PFL event in October, although no official details have been revealed.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting with Lobov touting the matchup on social media following an initial post from MMA Uncensored.

“7 years in the making,” Lobov wrote on Twitter. “Time to get revenge.”

The history between these two fighters dates back several years when Lobov was competing in the UFC and he ended up in a confrontation with members of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team, including Tukhogov, in 2018 ahead of UFC 223. In the aftermath of that encounter, Lobov’s then teammate and friend Conor McGregor came to New York and ended up launching an assault on a bus where Nurmagomedov and other UFC fighters were loaded as passengers following a press conference.

Lobov was among those involved in the incident and he was actually pulled from his fight scheduled that weekend.

The UFC eventually booked Lobov against Tukhogov but the bout never happened after Tukhogov was involved in a post-fight melee at UFC 229 where Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the main event before jumping over the cage to go after members of McGregor’s team.

The matchup was never rescheduled with Lobov and Tukhogov both eventually leaving the UFC roster but now they’ll finally attempt to settle their differences in the PFL cage.

Lobov is competing for the first time since 2021 when he retired from competition following several bare-knuckle fights. He’s also no longer aligned with McGregor after filing a lawsuit against his former friend over proceeds from the sale of Proper No. 12 whiskey, which he claims he helped launch.

As for Tukhogov, the Russian is also making his return to action for the first time in over two years with his last fight coming back in 2023 when he lost a decision to Elves Brener in the UFC.

The fight between Lobov and Tukhogov is expected to take place at a catchweight of 165 pounds with the card currently targeted for Dubai.