Artem Lobov suffered his third UFC defeat on Saturday night after his unanimous decision loss to Cub Swanson in Nashville.
The SBG fighter came into the main event bout on the back of consecutive wins against Chris Avila and Teruto Ishihara, but found the promotion's number four ranked featherweight a step too far over five gruelling rounds of action.
Swanson was heavy favourite coming into the fight, but Lobov was more than a match for his American counterpart and scored a takedown in the opening round after beginning the fight with a series of leg kicks.
His dominance wasn't to last and Swanson began to assert himself from this point, scoring repeatedly with combinations and a head kick that shook the Russian, as well as opening a cut above Lobov's eye in the third round.
"I knew he was going to step up to the plate and it was a hell of a fight," Swanson said after the fight.
Swanson recorded victory with the scorecards reading 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 and the 33-year-old raised Lobov's hand after the fight, bringing to an end their back-and-forth in the build up to the fight this week.
Heart! Toughness! Creativity! Cub Swanson vs. Artem Lobov was fun!! #UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/dp1phDzAkS
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 23, 2017
A comprehensive victory aside, Swanson then turned his attention to the division's champions; interim title holder Max Holloway and title holder, Jose Aldo.
"It’s about time. I think I’ve won 9 out of 11 so let’s do it."
Lobov, meanwhile, made no excuses for his performance.
"I lost," he said. "I thought I could take him but it wasn’t to be."
OHH! @CubSwanson starting to pour it on at #UFCNashville. pic.twitter.com/szE6ayCVxt
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) April 23, 2017
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
