Conor McGregor is thrilled following Artem Lobov’s successful bare-knuckle debut.
This past Saturday night (April 6), Lobov went one-on-one with Jason Knight in the main event of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) 5. The bout ended up being a bloody five-round war with several knockdowns. In the end, Lobov was awarded the unanimous decision win.
Conor McGregor Reacts To Artem Lobov’s BKFC 5 Win
McGregor, who is a teammate and longtime friend of Lobov’s, took to Twitter to congratulate “The Russian Hammer:”
“What an animal! Proud of you [Artem Lobov]! Amazing fight. Paulie’s nice and quiet all of a sudden and that’s not like him haha. We want a new contract for [Lobov] for this next bout! It has been earned and now deserved! What a great showing [Jason Knight]. Big respect!”
With the win, Lobov now finds himself in prime position to meet Paulie Malignaggi sometime this year. The former boxing world champions signed with BKFC. Malignaggi and Lobov even got involved in a scuffle during a media day session to promote BKFC 5.
Lobov was granted his UFC release and entertained offers from different promotions, including Bellator. In the end, Lobov claims BKFC offered the most money so the choice was clear. Throw in his chance to fight Malignaggi in a grudge match, and “The Russian Hammer” got exactly what he was looking for.
