"On purpose I didn't sign up for social welfare. I wanted to burn all my s**t" - Artem Lobov reveals he deliberately used up all his savings to set up 'do-or-die' MMA career

Artem Lobov put all of his eggs into one basket when it came to pursuing a high-level combat sports career.

Speaking on The Tragedy Academy Podcast, 'The Russian Hammer' discussed quitting his day job at a bank to help Conor McGregor train for his first Dustin Poirier fight. Lobov had used up all of his holidays at the bank and was looking to quit, but his manager tried to convince him to stay by giving him the time off. Lobov opted to just leave entirely and pursue his dreams of fighting as a pro.

While illustrating how committed he was to a full-time pursuit of pugilism, Lobov said:

"I quit my job because Ireland is a very developed country. Their social welfare system is very good here. But when I quit my job and I had no income coming in, I on purpose didn't sign up for social welfare. I wanted to burn all my s**t."

Lobov continued:

"I didn't want it to be some safety cushion or nothing for me. I was like no, f*** it. Make it or break it. Make it or die trying. That was my mentality."

Listen to the interview below:

Lobov has enjoyed competitive successes in multiple combat sports as a former UFC and BKFC veteran. The former UFC featherweight has an overall mixed martial arts record of 14 wins opposite 15 defeats, as well as a single draw and no contest.

Lobov also had a standout run in bare knuckle boxing after his time was up in the UFC. He put together a record of two wins and two losses after starting his career with consecutive victories.

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Artem Lobov's resume as a fighter

'The Russian Hammer' entered the UFC radar by way of participating in The Ultimate Fighter Season 22. Lobov fell just short of capturing the tournament title when he lost to Ryan Hall by way of unanimous decision at the TUF 22 Finale in December 2015. Artem Lobov collected UFC wins over Teruto Ishihara and Chris Avila.

Lobov's debut in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship was one of the greatest fights of the modern bare knuckle era — he bested Jason Knight via unanimous decision at BKFC 5.

His sophomore effort in BKFC saw Lobov pick up the biggest win of his entire combat sports run. Artem Lobov bested multi-time boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi by way of unanimous decision BKFC 6.

Following this performance, Lobov was stopped in a rematch to Jason Knight. He also lost to Olympic silver medalist-boxer Denys Berinchyk in a bout in which he was pretty emphatically finished. 'The Russian Hammer' retired from combat sports after his last bare knuckle loss.

Watch the full Lobov vs. Malignaggi fight below: