Artem Lobov is thankful that he was given the opportunity to build his name in the UFC, but is glad that he's out and reaping the financial awards.
The Russian Hammer left mixed martial arts to pursue a career in bare knuckle boxing earlier this year, and claims that he's taken home a lot of money as he prepares for his third fight with bare-knuckle promotion BKFC.
Lobov fights Jason Knight in a blockbuster rematch this weekend, and claims that he makes more money for a bout than that of most UFC fighters.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful for UFC. The reason why I’m getting all these offers is in large part because I was a UFC fighter and that’s where I made my name,” Lobov told MMA Fighting.
“Having said that, of course everybody wants to be champion, yes that’s good to be in the UFC but the thing is we all have families, we all have mouths to feed and we all need to provide.
"I’m able to do it a lot better outside the UFC than when I was in the UFC.
“I watch the pay disclosures after every card in the UFC and normally there’s one guy on the card who gets paid more than me. If there’s a big, huge card maybe there’s three or four.
"So I get paid more than 90 or 95 percent of the UFC fighters so I’m happy I’m in the position that I’m in.”
And the financial security has helped the 33-year-old keep his head screwed on and better prepare for fights.
Lobov added: “When you don’t have to worry about the financial side, you can truly concentrate on the craft.
“You can truly concentrate on the fights you really want to have.
“You have that freedom and it’s extremely important especially when you have a family and you have to provide.”
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