Artem Lobov has reacted to his scuffle with Paulie Malignaggi earlier today (April 2).
Lobov and Malignaggi were part of a media day session for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). It didn’t take long for the two to meet face-to-face and when they did, Malignaggi slapped Lobov. The two had to be separated before things got worse.
Lobov Explains What Happened With Malignaggi
Shortly after the incident transpired, Lobov spoke to MMAJunkie.com‘s Mike Bohn and had the following to say:
“He was an (expletive) an hour ago, and he still is an (expletive). (BKFC President David Feldman) begged me not to touch him. He said, ‘Please don’t lay a hand on him. We need him for the fights.’ I said, ‘Look, no problem, David. You’ve got my word.’ (Malignaggi) was saying the same thing. ‘We’re not going to touch,’ and then he got a little cheap shot in. I don’t know. I just kick him right in the (expletive) chest to let him know what’s up. He’s here when the crowd is around us, but let’s be honest. If this was just a fight, what do you think would have happened with this guy. I would have been stomping on his head in seconds. I’m not a guy to wrestle much in my fights, but I know where my advantages lay when I square up against him. I would just double-leg him and kick him in the (expletive) face. That’s it.”
Lobov is set to make his BKFC debut on April 6 against fellow former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight Jason Knight. Malignaggi is the latest addition to the BKFC roster. The two have some bad blood going back to Conor McGregor’s 2017 sparring session with Malignaggi.
