Artem Lobov begs Dana White not to cancel Tukhugov fight: Don’t let him ‘escape his punishment’ for UFC 229 brawl

Shortly after UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event last Saturday, his and McGregor’s teams engaged in a wild brawl, inside and outside of the Octagon.

One of the fighters involved in this brawl was Nurmagomedov’s friend and training partner, UFC featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov, who was booked for a UFC Moncton scrap with McGregor training partner Artem Lobov at the time.

Following this brawl, Tukhugov was pulled from this Artem Lobov matchup by UFC President Dana White, who was clearly trying to stomp out the Nurmagomedov-McGregor beef before it got any worse. There have even been suggestions that Tukhugov could be released from the UFC altogether.

Artem Lobov is hoping that doesn’t happen.

Speaking on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, the Conor McGregor training partner implored Dana White to keep Zubaira Tukhugov around and allow him to compete in their originally scheduled UFC Moncton scrap. Why? Because he’s hoping to punish Tukhugov for his attack on McGregor.

Dana dont let Tukhugov escape his punishment, put him back in! @danawhite

— Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA) October 11, 2018

“Dana don’t let Tukhugov escape his punishment,” Artem Lobov said in his Tweet on the subject. “Put him back in!”

While Lobov is hoping he’ll still have the chance to fight Tukhugov in Moncton, Ariel Helwani is reporting the fight is indeed nixed.

Confirmed that the Lobov vs. Tukhugov fight in Moncton later this month has been canceled. UFC looking for a new opponent for Lobov. Tukhugov’s status is uncertain. https://t.co/KME9IC24jG

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 11, 2018

“Confirmed that the Lobov vs. Tukhugov fight in Moncton later this month has been canceled,” Helwani stated on Twitter. “UFC looking for a new opponent for Lobov. Tukhugov’s status is uncertain.”

Do you think Dana White will heed Artem Lobov’s wishes and allow Zubaira Tukhugov to fight at UFC Moncton, or will these words fall on deaf ears?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/11/2018.