While the UFC and Bellator went head-to-head (the latter on a bizarre broadcast schedule that did not sit well with fans), Bare Knuckle FC returned Saturday with a match-up that could only exist in the world of combat sports. Or maybe pro wrestling. A grudge match between Paulie Malignaggi, a former two-division boxing champ not really known for having any finishing power, and Artem Lobov, the sub-.500 training partner of Conor McGregor, was pretty much being billed as the biggest fight in BKFC history.

Given they’re just six events in, that’s not really a stretch. But in terms of sporting merit, well there was little. Lobov is a gamer, but not a great, which is the point of all those GOAT memes surrounding him. Malignaggi was a legit boxer, but had been on the sidelines two years, and pretty much embarrassed himself in the build-up to the fight, slapping and spitting on Lobov on separate occasions.

Then he went and lost a five-round unanimous decision to ‘The Russian Hammer’ in the main event. Ouch.

To add injury to insult, Malignaggi was sporting a nasty gash running from his eyebrow down to his nose following the fight, just one of several facial lacerations, though he later boasted the Lobov had only hit him with a single clean punch.

Check out highlights from the main event scrap above, and for full coverage of the card, visit our results page.

The post Video: BKFC 6 Malignaggi vs. Lobov Highlights, In Case You Missed It appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

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Points for good behavior, perhaps. The weigh-in for Bare Knuckle FC 6 on Friday brought with it a face-off between Artem Lobov and Paulie Malignaggi. And unlike past occurrences, the pair managed to control themselves. In the past, incidents — mainly instigated by Malignaggi, who both slapped and spat on Lobov on separate occasions — tarnished the hype surrounding the upcoming grudge match. Unless of course you’re into a grown man spitting on someone.

However, Friday’s weigh-in saw the pair simply trash talk a little, with both refusing to be the first to look away during the face-off. Fair enough.

Of course, since nothing can ever be simple with this bare knuckle boxing match, a fan then decided to try to goad Lobov into a confrontation. Lobov answered with a middle finger and some obscenities, while Malignaggi of all people attempted to get the fan to calm down.

BKFC 6, featuring familiar names like Chris Leben and Joey Beltran, kicks off tonight at 8PM ET. The main event, of course, is a grudge match between Malignaggi, a one-time sparring partner of Conor McGregor, and Lobov, McGregor’s longtime friend and training partner. While the bout seems to be Malignaggi’s attempt to lure McGregor into a future boxing match, it’s unlikely to be more than a one-off spectacle. However, based on Lobov’s past bare knuckle outing, and Malignaggi’s skill as a boxer, it should at least be entertaining.

The card airs live on PPV and Fite.tv online.

BKFC 6 Full Card:

Paulie Malignaggi vs. Artem Lobov
Chris Leben vs. Dakota Cochrane
Reginald Barnett Jr vs. Johnny Bedford
Joey Beltran vs. Jamie Campbell
Tom Shoaff vs. Julian Lane
Abdiel Velazquez vs. Travis Thompson
Elvin Leon Brito vs. Jim Alers

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BKFC 6 was originally supposed to have Chris Leben face off with Brennan Ward. Unfortunately Ward was forced to withdraw from the fight, and in steps Dakota Cochrane.  The promotion announced the news via press release Wednesday. As mentioned earlier, the event takes place in Tampa, Florida on June 22. The card is the biggest in the young promotion’s history with Artem Lobov set to face off Paulie Malignaggi in the main event.

Dakota Cochrane makes his BKFC debut after knocking our former UFC champ, Johny Hendricks in the ever-controversial World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation event. Cochrane also has a 33-13 MMA record with fights in The Ultimate Fighter, Bellator, LFA among others.

Chris Leben is a BKFC veteran. He beat Justin Baesman in April with a phenomenal 25 second KO. He looks to continue his Bare Knuckle career at BKFC 6 and give the fans an exciting co main event.

BKFC 6: The Biggest Bare Knuckle Event in History

BKFC 6 will be the biggest Bare Knuckle boxing event in history. All eyes are on the UFC fan favorite, Artem Lobov, who takes on former boxing world champion, Paulie Malignaggi. The two are in a heated dispute that will finally come to a head on June 22. Lobov was spit on and slapped in the face by Paulie Malignaggi during promotion for the fight. The rivalry stems from Malignaggi and his hatred for Conor McGregor, after sparring with the UFC star during his preparation for the MayMac boxing match. With Lobov being McGregor’s training partner, Paulie is angling for a fight with McGregor down the road.

Also on the card is the return of Joe Riggs as he takes on Tampa’s Walber Barros. Abdiel Velasquez is set to make his return as well.

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New York, NY — On Monday, May 20, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships (BKFC) held a press conference for BKFC 6 in Dave and Busters in New York City. Featured were the main event fighters, Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov, as well as the co-main event fighters, Chris Leben and Brennan Ward.

To start the conference, each fighter was given the opportunity to speak their mind on the event before questions were taken. Bellator veteran Brennan Ward and UFC fan-favorite Chris Leben were both insistent that they were built for bare-knuckle fighting, with Ward emphasizing the lack of wrestling and grappling as positives. This was their one chance to speak, because they were not asked questions once questions started being asked.

Artem Lobov played off of Leben and Ward saying they were built for bare-knuckle by saying Paulie Malignaggi was the opposite, and his fighting style will not translate to the sport.

Malignaggi then took the mic, and this is where stuff started getting hairy. While Malignaggi was talking at length (he poked fun at all three fighters for being “short on words”), Lobov hurled insults at him from his seat. Malignaggi pointed out that he let Lobov speak when he was given the chance, and that Lobov should do the same. Things escalated when their past encounter was brought up, with the boxer asking, “How could you let me slap you?” Lobov then got closer to Malignaggi, who then bopped him with the microphone. Both men had to be held back, and once things settled down, the press conference was able to begin.

It was full of trash talk, with Malignaggi saying he’ll put Lobov in a coma then urinate in his “toothless mouth.” He also insisted that the fight be promoted as Malignaggi vs. Lobov, and not the other way around. Lobov fired back by saying Malignaggi avoided all the tough fights in his career, and when he took them, he lost.

After the microphone (yes, there was only one microphone for the entire press conference) was taken from a rambling Malignaggi, it was time for staredowns. For an unknown reason, they started with the main event, and another scrap unfolded after Malignaggi spit on Lobov. Watch below:

As a result, Leben and Ward were not given a staredown opportunity.

BKFC 6 goes down on June 22 (because Malignaggi did not want to waste his summer training for a “bum”) in Tampa, Florida, on pay-per-view.

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It seems as everyone meant business with all the talk between Bare Knuckle, Artem Lobov, and Paulie Malignaggi. On June 22, the former boxing world champion, Paulie Malignaggi, will take on former UFC contender, Artem Lobov at BKFC 6. The fight will take place in New Hampshire.

👀 Paulie Malignaggi just slapped Artem Lobov at a media event for their BKB careers…

🎥 @ABboxingnews pic.twitter.com/7kD1vE6Q0D

— Darren Russell (@DarrenRussell_) April 2, 2019

Lobov and Malignaggi rivalry came to a boiling point ahead of Lobov’s fight at BKFC 5 against Jason Knight. The two were scheduled to face off for a photo op at a gym before the fight. Things got ugly and Malignaggi took offense to something Lobov said and slapped him in the face. A scuffle ensued and all of a sudden, fans were clamoring to see the two fighters go at it in the ring with no gloves.

Lobov is coming off of a war with Jason Knight in his debut. The two went out and gave fans everything they were hoping for and more at BKFC 5. Lobov ultimately got the decision win and will now face Paulie at BKFC 6.

Malignaggi hasn’t competed since March of 2017. He lost to Sam Eggington via eighth-round KO. Malignaggi won the IBF junior welterweight (140 lbs) and the WBA welterweight (147 lbs) world titles. After his career, Malignaggi attempted to help Conor McGregor ahead of his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. The two didn’t have the same goals in mind which resulted in a feud between the two and a very aggressive sparring match.

Malignaggi has consistently called out McGregor since before the Mayweather fight. Seeing that Lobov is a longtime training partner of Conor’s, many speculate a fight between McGregor and Paulie should Paulie beat Artem at BKFC 6. Boxing or bare knuckle boxing is still up for debate.

pic.twitter.com/zBcdYKcoIg

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 3, 2019

Lobov and Malignaggi aren’t the only two big names. Chris Leben, who also made his debut on BKFC 5, will be taking on Brennan Ward. Leben, former UFC, and Ward, former Bellator, will be throwing down on BKFC 6 as the co-main event.

Thanks for reading! For all news regarding BKFC 6, stay posted to Cageside Press.

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