This past Saturday at Bare Knuckle FC 6, Artem Lobov pulled off a stunning upset win over former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi in the headliner. It was one of the most anticipated fights of the year in all of combat sports, simply because of the boiling hot feud between Lobov and Malignaggi heading into the event. But it’s over, and now Lobov – who couldn’t cut it in the UFC – is 2-0 as a bare-knuckle boxer in BKFC’s two biggest fights. Add to that his cult following because of his association with good friend Conor McGregor, and suddenly Lobov finds himself with options for his career. So what should he do next? MMA Junkie’s Simon Head, Farah Hannoun and Nolan King weigh in for this latest edition of “Triple Take.”
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Simon Head: Amir Khan, anyone?
Has Artem Lobov’s star ever been brighter than it is right now? After a career spent taking on anyone, anywhere, “The Russian Hammer” now has options. If he wants to fight in MMA again, Rizin seems like a perfect fit, while the World Lethwei Championship would offer him the opportunity to take his bare-knuckle prowess to Asia.
But he’s got a good thing going with the brass at BKFC, and you can bet president David Feldman will be keen to keep Lobov under his promotion’s banner. The big question now is how do you top, or come close to topping, the matchup with Paulie Malignaggi? Because if they can’t, all this media attention is likely to dissipate pretty quickly.
There have been suggestions of a possible rematch with Jason Knight, but with all respect to “Mississippi Mean,” I think Feldman needs to hook another big fish for Lobov in order to keep the BKFC momentum rolling.
Somehow, Feldman has to find an opponent who will bring similar intrigue – but less press conference saliva – as Malignaggi. Artem needs a credible opponent, someone who could bring numbers and initiate more debate and crossover interest.
Step forward, Amir Khan.
The British boxer is a former world champion. He has sublime boxing skills, but he’s also been shown to be vulnerable to a big puncher. He also appears to be someone who’s not averse to making a left-field career decision – just check his upcoming fight with Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat in Saudi Arabia.
The clincher here is the fact that Khan and Lobov already have beef, stemming back to 2017, when Lobov suggested he could follow teammate Conor McGregor into boxing, but only if he took an easy fight against someone like Khan to begin with.
It sparked a Twitter back and forth that saw both men throwing insults at each other. If they were both contracted to the same sport, the clamor for the pair to fight would have started there, but they were poles apart, and the rivalry disappeared into the ether.
Until now, perhaps.
I reckon if there’s a big-name boxer who could potentially be persuaded to face Lobov in the BKFC ring, it’s Khan. But ultimately, it’ll be down to Feldman and his bank manager to work out whether they can throw enough money at Khan to persuade him to throw down under bare-knuckle rules.
Next page – Farah Hannoun: Be the face of BKFC and fight whomever he chooses
Farah Hannoun: Be the face of BKFC and fight whomever he chooses
What started as a rivalry between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi because of their infamous sparring session, it seems that Artem Lobov has ended it.
Lobov notched his second win in bare-knuckle when he defeated Malignaggi by unanimous decision this past Saturday at BKFC 6. The bout arguably drew more attention from the media and fans than any other event that weekend, head to head with both the UFC and Bellator earlier that day. Hard to believe for an MMA fighter who was long criticized for his sub-par record. It seems that Lobov has found his niche.
Lobov had an absolute slugfest with UFC veteran Jason Knight in his BKFC debut and now has a win over a former boxing world champion. Crazy world, right? A world that Lobov fits right in.
Always down for a scrap, Lobov has been the longtime training partner of McGregor. Many wondered if all those rounds with McGregor would amount to something, and he has finally proven they have.
He’s also not one who’s shy with words, as Lobov is game for some pre-fight entertainment. He’s had infamous run-ins with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Malignaggi, which have had his name all over the headlines.
What’s next for Lobov? Who knows, but beating a guy like Malignaggi has most definitely made him the face of BKFC. In the post-fight news conference, Lobov mentioned that he has other ventures in mind, perhaps boxing and that he’d like to get paid. With the threat of him possibly leaving after finishing out his contract with BKFC, he holds all the cards.
Lobov mentioned Amir Khan and with the ever growing popularity of BKFC, who knows which big combat sports name will join the promotion next? Point is, Lobov is in a position to make demands and garner the interest of a big name in fighting, which is why he should stay with BKFC.
Next page – Nolan King: Stick with a proven recipe and rematch Jason Knight
Nolan King: Stick with a proven recipe and rematch Jason Knight
From the pre-fight build-up to the post-fight interviews, Artem Lobov vs. Paulie Malignaggi was a truly unique ride. Almost two years after Conor McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather in boxing, the residual overflow of the bout surfaced once again.
It’s no secret. Even the most minuscule of McGregor storylines generates an abundance of eyeballs.
Despite the buzz and hype surrounding Saturday’s BKFC 6 main event, the fight (somewhat unsurprisingly) did not live up to many viewers’ expectations once the two men actually squared off.
Sure, the event appeared to be quite successful, but was the promotion’s long-term selling abilities hindered with the lack of action in the main event Maybe. But there’s a simple way to fix this.
Stating the obvious, it’ll be tough for BKFC to recreate the amount of hype Lobov and Malignaggi generated – frankly bordering on impossible with the names BKFC has at hand. That’s why the promotion needs to go back to a proven commodity and stick with what works.
Book a rematch between Lobov and UFC veteran Jason Knight.
What the matchup lacks in pre-fight trash talk and bad blood, it will likely make up for with in-cage action. If Knight defeats Leonard Garcia in the main event of BKFC 7 in August, the reunion seems like a no-brainer. The first meeting was so ungodly violent, some selling points of a rematch are more substantive than Malignaggi vs. Lobov.
Obviously, the fight won’t come close to Malignaggi vs. Lobov in terms of pay-per-view buys, but it will likely reassert BKFC’s ability to put on highly entertaining, one-of-a-kind action that differentiates it from everyone else.
Will Lobov be interested in returning to BKFC? He really should be.
It’s quite feasible Lobov might utilize BKFC as a stepping stone that grew his popularity and added more legitimacy to his name en route to an MMA return. And while Bellator or PFL’s interest in the adopted Irishman might be growing, leaving BKFC would be a risky career maneuver for Lobov.
The 32-year-old Russian has carved out a nice niche for himself in the world of bare-knuckle boxing. He’s becoming the face of their promotion and is doing quite well for himself. Why not stick to what works?
For more on the upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
