We have ourselves a new fight booking for the UFC's first show in Belfast since 2007. The Irish Mirror reported earlier this week that featherweight veteran Artem Lobov will fight Japan's Teruto Ishihara at UFC Fight Night 99 on Saturday, November 19th. The event is part of a doubleheader of UFC shows, with Ryan Bader fighting Antonio Rogerio Nogueira later that evening in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Ishihara (9-2-2) has scored knockout wins in his last two fights. He put away Julian Erosa at UFC 196, then took home a performance bonus with a 1st round stoppage of Horacio Gutierrez. The 25-year-old fought to a split draw in the Road to UFC: Japan tournament final, which is the only other bout in his UFC career. Ishihara is known for his eccentric personality, and his ... um ... love for being with the ladies.
Lobov (12-12-1, 1 NC) advanced to the final of TUF 22, but lost to Ryan Hall by unanimous decision in a one-sided fight. He dropped a decision to Alex White in February, making his UFC 202 fight against Chris Avila a must-win situation. Lobov would get the unanimous decision win over Avila, and now the training partner of Conor McGregor will look to get himself to .500 in his UFC career, and back above .500 for his MMA career.
UFC Fight Night 99 is headlined by a welterweight matchup between Gunnar Nelson and Dong Hyun Kim. The entire card will stream live on UFC Fight Pass.