Artem Lobov attended a BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) media event ahead of his fight on April 2. Former IBF and WBA champion, Paulie Malignaggi was also at the event.
Lobov and Malignaggi’s relationship hasn’t exactly been friendly since the summer of 2017. At the time, Malignaggi abruptly left McGregor’s fight camp. Soon after, video footage surfaced of McGregor besting Malignaggi in the ring.
According to Malignaggi, the footage was not true to what really happened. In fact, Malignaggi says Dana White cut up the sparring session’s footage. Footage released to the public only showed parts where McGregor got the best of him. So it was only a matter of time before it all went south at BKFC, where Malignaggi slapped Lobov.
When Conor McGregor found out about the situation, he could not help himself. Artem Lobov is, after all, a good friend and teammate of McGregor’s. Conor McGregor took to Twitter to remind Malignaggi of their infamous camp session back in 2017.
The “retired” UFC star took to Khabib Nurmagomedev and his wife next in a series controversial posts. Conor McGregor has since removed the posts. His recent announcement to retire has stirred the MMA world. Leading opinion is that the retirement is a tactic to tilt negotiations with the UFC in his favor.
Lobov will be making his debut at the BKFC later this month against Jason Knight, former UFC veteran.