8 Best Bromances In MMA History

Despite becoming the biggest star in UFC history, and enjoying levels of fame that most fighters will only dream of, Conor McGregor has remained fiercely loyal to those who surrounded him during the early days of his career, training at the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, Ireland. One of McGregor's main training partners, and an ever-present during those early years is Artem Lobov, a Russian journeyman known for possessing toughness and knockout power in equal measure.

The pair were endeared to each other before McGregor had even stepped into the Octagon because of their willingness to spar regularly with one another. When McGregor finally started seeing the fruits of his labour in the fight game, he stayed with SBG and used his sway to benefit his training partners.

This was exemplified when McGregor got Lobov a spot on The Ultimate Fighter Season 22 in which Conor coached against Urijah Faber and then brought Artem back after he lost his fight to enter the house. One only needs to see how excited McGregor was when Lobov defeated Teruto Ishihara to see just how close these two are.

McGregor also later showed that he was willing to get into serious trouble to back up his friend. After Lobov had been confronted by Khabib Nurmagomedov prior to UFC 223, Conor and several teammates attacked a bus containing Khabib and his team at a media day in an attempt to goad the Russian into a fight.