Artem Lobov booked a fight against Paulie Malignaggi by outpointing Jason Knight on his bare knuckle boxing debut.
Lobov, a former teammate of Conor McGregor , was dropped in the first round but went on to floor his opponent in the same session.
He did likewise in the second and third rounds before the final two stanzas were played out at an astonishing tempo.
Both men were left bloodied but it was Lobov who had his hand raised after the judges scored the fight 48-47, 47-47, 48-46.
Lobov will now face former boxing world champion Malignaggi on June 22.
He said: "I thought he was conquered many times. I dropped him three or four times. He's a tough, tough kid. He kept coming and coming. That was a great fight.
Conor McGregor's epic 21-photo trolling of Paulie Malignaggi
“Malignaggi is a little p**** who plucks his eyebrows. I’m going to spark him."
The beaten Knight said: “We all know I didn’t lose that damn fight. We all know I got robbed."
Lobov and Malignaggi had clashed at the weigh-in for Saturday's fight when the American slapped his rival.
"Don't get in my face and make threats here cos I'll f*** you up; next time I'll smack you up for real.
Paulie Malignaggi slaps Conor McGregor's former teammate Artem Lobov
"You're on a death wish bro; I'm going to put you in a body bag in June... I'm going to kill you."
Lobov, who won two of his seven fights in the UFC, said: "I'm a real fighter and I'm going to fight Paulie in a real fight. I want to make money for it. He knows I'm down. If you're a real fighter, let's fight in the ring.
"Let's be honest, Paulie doesn't want to fight me on the street, because he knows I'd tear him apart in seconds. But I want to prove myself in the boxing ring. That's why I'm doing this. I want Paulie safe until the day I can finally put my hands on him."
