John Kavanagh posts heartfelt message for Artem Lobov after his MMA retirement 

Fan-favorite Russian-Irish mixed martial artist Artem Lobov recently announced his retirement from the sport. Bruno Massami of MMA Plus was the first to report on the former UFC fighter's retirement.

Today, the Russian partner of Conor McGregor, Artem Lobov announce his retirement from Combat Sports after Lost a fight to Denis Berinchik at Mahatch FC today. With 13-15 in MMA and 2-1 in Bare Knuckle he lose by TKO in fifth round. pic.twitter.com/b5HCFXjYzj

— Bruno Massami (Бруно Массами) (@BrMassami) July 24, 2021

John Kavanagh, who has been Artem Lobov's longtime coach at Ireland's Straight Blast Gym or SBG, posted a message on Instagram to pay tribute to the remarkable career of his student. Kavanagh commended Lobov's willingness to show up to fight anyone at any time throughout his career and wished him luck for his future endeavors.

"It's been a pleasure and honour to coach @rushammer for the past decade and I wish him the very best in the future. As a novice 1-1 pro he insisted on fighting one of UKs hottest prospect, the 9-1 Dave Hill. He won and that attitude of anyone, anytime, any rules would define his +10yr professional fighter. Win or lose he showed up, made weight and always gave it his all. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next," John Kavanagh wrote.

Artem Lobov walks away from a career in MMA spanning over a decade, just days after his second bare-knuckle loss to former Ukrainian Olympian Denys Berinchyk in Kyiv, Ukraine. He retired from active competition with a 13-15-1NC MMA record and a 2-2 record in bare-knuckle fighting.

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Artem Lobov: "Time to close the career"

A longtime teammate of Conor McGregor, Artem Lobov made his UFC debut in December 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter 22 as part of Team McGregor. He made it to the season's lightweight finals, where he lost a decision to Ryan Hall.

In a statement to MMA Fighting via Parimatch, Artem Lobov said he felt it was time for him to hang up his fighting gloves and pursue other career opportunities.

"It’s true, time to close the career. There’s plenty other options and suggestions to prolong my path, but not fighting. In order to succeed, you have to say goodbye and concentrate on other things. Of course, I’ll be with Mahatch and the Parimatch team. All my sponsors are already family for me. I feel this support indeed. So I won’t say goodbye from all fighting activities, but I need to finish my career as a fighter," Artem Lobov said in the statement.

Artem Lobov's high-profile bare-knuckle 'grudge' match against Paulie Malignaggi at BKFC 6 following the latter's altercation with Conor McGregor is certainly the highlight of his career.