A highly anticipated grudge match between bitter rivals Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov headlined tonight’s BKFC 6 event in Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
Malignaggi (36-8 boxing) was making his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut at tonight’s event.<\/p>\n
Tonight’s fight marked Paulie’s first appearance since March of 2017, where he had suffered a TKO loss to Sam Eggington in his bid for the WBC International Welterweight title.<\/p>\n
Prior to his failed title bid, Paulie Malignaggi had strung together three straight decision victories over opponents Laszlo Fazekas, Antonio Moscatiello and Gabriel Bracero.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Artem Lobov entered tonight’s BKFC 6 main event on the heels of a unanimous decision victory over fellow UFC veteran Jason Knight in his promotional debut this past April.<\/p>\n
The victory snapped a three-fight losing skid for \u2018The Russian Hammer\u2019, as Lobov had previously suffered decision setbacks to Cub Swanson, Andre Fili and Michael Johnson inside the octagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prior to tonight’s contest, Artem Lobov was involved in an altercation with some members of Team Paulie Malignaggi at the weigh ins (watch that here<\/a>).<\/p>\n With that said, tensions were at an all-time high when the bitter rivals entered the ring this evening.<\/p>\n Tonight’s BKFC 6 main event resulted in a very close battle. Both Paulie and Artem had their moments, but it was Lobov’s intense forward pressure throughout the fight that seemed to sway the judges opinion.<\/p>\n After five rounds of action, the judges awarded Artem Lobov a unanimous decision victory over Paulie Malignaggi 48-47 on all three scorecards.<\/p>\n Check out how the pros reacted to tonight’s BKFC 6 main event between Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov below:<\/p>\n Malagnaggi looks like Lobov took a selfie with the snapchat baby filter on. #BKFC6<\/a><\/p>\n — Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) June 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n