If you weren’t spent after a pair of big MMA cards between the UFC and Bellator on Saturday, there was still BKFC 6 to entertain you.
The grudge match is finally upon us. On Saturday, Artem Lobov and Paulie Malignaggi finally got their chance to settle things in the ring. The feud began brewing back when Malignaggi was brought in as a sparring partner for Conor McGregor ahead of his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. Somehow, things went south between the pair. McGregor’s camp claimed he got the better of Malignaggi in sparring. Malignaggi disputed that the McGregor camp released photos and a snippet of video, and years later heading into BKFC 6, the two are still feuding.
Since McGregor himself is frankly unattainable for Malignaggi, he’s opted to come out of retirement for a bare-knuckle boxing match against Artem Lobov. After washing out of the UFC, Lobov had a bloody, entertaining bare-knuckle debut against Jason Knight at BKFC 5 just a few months ago. Can he repeat that success against Malignaggi? Or will Paulie manage to put a beating on McGregor’s buddy, and gain revenge of sorts?
Check below for results from BKFC 6. The prelims kick off at 8 PM ET.
BKFC 6: Malignaggi vs. Lobov Results:
Artem Lobov defeats Paulie Malignaggi via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
The first round was for both to feel each other out. Lobov came forward and looked for big hooks against the boxing world champion. However, Lobov couldn’t connect much as Paulie easily got out of the way, and Paulie landed some snapping jabs of his own in the opening two minutes. It was an interesting first round for both.
The second round is where Paulie gained control of the fight. Landing some more snapping jabs and landing the right straight at will, he opened a cut under Lobov’s eye. Lobov struggled with Paulie’s movement and couldn’t land clean, with the exception of a few shots.
The third round was Artem’s best round, he landed a couple of nice straight punches as Artem attempted to switch stances to gain some type of advantage. Paulie was using faints and jabs to the body very well, but round three was still Lobov’s best round to that point, as Artem opened a cut on Paulie.
Round five wasn’t a terribly interesting round, as Artem attempted to push the pressure, Paulie didn’t really throw any punches. Paulie just moved backward, and slipped a lot of Artem’s punches. Artem came on strong at the end, but Paulie absolutely controlled the earlier rounds. Closer fight than many expected, as many just expected one side to roll over the other.
But Artem would go on to take the decision, and the 13-15-1 MMA fighter defeated the former boxing champion in Paulie. Artem defeats Paulie for Team SBG.
Dakota Cochrane defeats Chris Leben via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
The first round was a bit of a feeling out process for both, with Leben getting in the clinch and looking for uppercuts, and Cochrane staying on the outside trying to land the big right hand. The second round saw Cochrane land some really big shots and land big uppercut that seemed to stun Leben at one point. He also got a big cut over Leben’s eye, en route to taking the second round.
The third round saw more success for Cochrane. As Leben continued to slow down, Cochrane continued to push the pressure and land some big lefts. Leben struggled to find that big shot that he found in his previous Bare-Knuckle fights, and Cochrane was just outworking, and outlanding the UFC veteran.
In the fourth round, Leben landed some good shots near the end of the round, however, it was a mostly back and forth affair. The fifth round was a bit of a sloppy round, as both were clearly gassed. Cochrane continued to move forward, but the majority of the round was spent in the clinch with not much action. A bit of an uneventful close to a fun fight.
Dakota Cochrane has gone from being a pornstar to fighting in the Ultimate Fighter, to fighting in Bellator and getting cut, to defeating Johny Hendricks and Chris Leben back-to-back in Bare Knuckle Boxing.
Kid’s gonna have an incredible Wikipedia page one day.
Johnny Bedford defeats Reggie Barnett via unanimous decision (47-45, 48-44, 47-45)
Barnett came out firing to start, and Bedford would counter with giant shots to the body. Barnett would then take a step back and Bedford would drop him with a big straight right. Barnett would get back to his feet, but he would soon get dropped again. Bedford would continue to push the pace and look for the finish from there, but Barnett would make it to round two.
The second round saw Barnett get his legs back under him, and land some good shots of his own. Both landed good shots in the second frame, but Barnett seemed to land the hardest shot of the round, a big right in the last minute of round two. The third round saw Barnett get rocked again, and get dropped again. After the close second round, Bedford went back to work with the knockout.
Round four saw Bedford landing more good shots, as Barnett didn’t throw nearly as much as he did earlier in the fight. At one point Bedford complained to the referee that Barnett wasn’t fighting, and that was a theme throughout an uneventful round four. Barnett came back and landed some nice shots in the fifth round, however, it was too little, too late. Johnny Bedford was the BKFC’s lightweight champion.
Julian Lane defeats Tom Shoaff via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
Julian Lane came out firing immediately, throwing tons of hooks and getting in on Tom Shoaff. However, Shoaff would survive would the initial flurry, and land some counters of his own. Lane would continue to push the pressure and would drop Shoaff, however, Shoaff would meet the count. Lane continued throwing haymakers as the time would come to an end on an explosive round one.
Round two saw Lane land some more shots, however, Shoaff came back with some shots of his own. Mostly counters as Lane came in strong, as he went back to his corner, Lane seemed to be getting tired. Rounds three and four is where Shoaff came on more, while Lane landed some nice shots of his own, Shoaff pushed the pressure and landed more shots than Lane going into round five.
Shoaff came on strong in round five, as both men were trying their best to finish the fight. Shoaff in the last thirty seconds landed a giant uppercut that hurt Lane, and while he pushed the pressure he couldn’t get the finish. A very fun fight to watch.
Joey Beltran defeats Jamie Campbell via second-round TKO (1:50)
Campbell and Beltran got off to a fast start, with Campbell landing a quick flurry in the first round. The two spent the majority of the first round in the clinch, with both looking for shots in close. The second round is where the fight got turned up, as Beltran started off quick by landing a big right hand and dropping Campbell.
Beltran then moved in on the hurt Campbell and landed a big combination with some ruthless uppercuts. He would drop Campbell again, and despite his attempts to appeal to the referee, the fight was called off. A good TKO win for Joey Beltran, the old veteran just keeps on chugging along.
Joe Riggs vs. Walber Brito de Barros ruled a draw (47-47, 47-47, 47-47)
Round one was a bit of a feeling out process for both fighters, however, we saw that Barros was putting Joe Riggs on the back foot early. That would come into play in the second round, as in the last ten seconds, Barros hit Riggs with a big right hand as he was moving forward and Joe went down hard. Riggs would make it to the third round, but he was hurt bad.
Round three saw Riggs regain his senses, Barros attempted to get the big right hand again but couldn’t get it going. Riggs landed a nice left hand late in the third, but Riggs would appear to be in some pain with his left hand, speculating that his left hand may be broken. But in the fourth round, the tide would continue to turn in Riggs, favor, as he landed some really nice combinations and began closing Barros’s left eye.
The fifth round may have been the deciding round, however, both didn’t seem to push the pressure much. Both landed their shots, but neither made a big push near the end. We would go on to see the decision, with the fight going on to be ruled a draw.
Jim Alers defeats Elvin Brito via first-round knockout (:45)
Jim Alers came out hot to start the fight, landing big combinations to kick it off. Brito was on the backfoot and was struggling with Alers onward pressure. Alers then moved in with a giant power shot and put Brito down for the count. He was hurt bad, and the referee waved it off. An excellent win for Alers.
David Mundell defeats Drew Lipton via first-round knockout (1:35)
David Mundell started the fight fast, cornering Lipton and dropping him in the first minute. Lipton would return to his feet and would continue to get battered, taking massive body shots, and big right hands. Mundell would land a big right hand and Lipton would go down, and the fight was called off. A first-round knockout victory for David Mundell.
Abdiel Velazquez defeats Travis Thompson via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-45)
Velazquez started incredibly fast, landing a combination as soon as the fight began. Both men clearly had different styles as shown in the first round, Thompson coming out with a high boxing stance, and Velazquez having more of an MMA striking style. After that initial combination, Thompson pushed the pressure more than Velazquez, however, both did have lots of success in the opening frame.
Round two didn’t have as many fireworks as the first, but both still had some success. Velazquez mostly landing with the straight right, and Thompson finding most of his success in the clinch and moving forward. Round three was a great round for Thompson, Thompson came out early and cracked Velazquez with a big right hand, but he didn’t go down. For the rest of the round, Velazquez was on his bike, with Thompson complaining multiple times to the referee that Velazquez wasn’t engaging.
Velazquez went back to the jab in the fourth round, having success on the outside as Travis failed to land the big power shot that he looked for the whole fight. Round four wasn’t that noteworthy with the exception of an eye poke in the last 15-seconds by Thompson. Round five saw Thompson getting very frustrated with Velazquez staying on the outside, even yelling at him at some points. But Velazquez didn’t get away from his strategy with the exception of the last ten seconds, and the round would come to a close with the two brawling in the center.
Chris Boffil defeats Jared Hayes via third-round TKO (1:55)
Round one was a feeling out process for both, neither made a big impression. In what was a clinch-heavy first two minutes, not a lot landed at a distance. The second round is where the tide turned. Both began throwing more, and Hayes dropped Boffil near the end of the second round. However, Boffil would return to his feet and land some good shots of his own as the round came to a close.
Hayes got hurt in round three and began to shy away from Boffil. Boffil poured on the pressure as Hayes was retreating, and dropped him. Hayes would get back to his feet in an attempt to soldier on, but Boffil would quickly drop him again. Hayes would return to his feet, but the referee had seen enough. He waved off the contest, and Chris Boffil got the TKO victory.
