Video: Malignaggi slaps Lobov during BK FC media event

It looks like Malignaggi and Lobov are hoping to build a little heat for a potential fight further down the road.

For the past couple years Artem Lobov has been a peripheral figure in the feud between Paulie Malignaggi and Conor McGregor. The former world champion boxer was a brief part of McGregor’s training camp for Floyd Mayweather back in 2017, ending up as the punch-line in some now-infamous sparring footage released by McGregor, showing him apparently knocking the boxer down. It didn’t help McGregor win his fight against ‘Money,’ but Malignaggi has been taking shots at the ‘Notorious’ UFC superstar ever since.

Now he’s taking shots at Artem Lobov as well.

Lobov and Malignaggi are both recent high-profile signees to the upstart Bare Knuckle FC boxing promotion. The organization started in 2018, putting on some of the first sanctioned bare knuckle fights in the US in more than 100 years, and has included MMA fighters Bec Rawlings and Joey Beltran among others. Their 5th event – which takes place on April 6th in Biloxi, Mississippi – will feature the debut of Lobov against another recently released UFC talent, Jason Knight.

Malignaggi was in attendance for a BKFC media event this week, in the lead up to fight night, and when he and Lobov started jawing at one another, things escalated quickly.

Here’s the altercation from another angle:

Things appear to have really got knocked up a notch when Lobov told Malignaggi, “You don’t want to do it here, man. Because you’re going to get broke up in here.”

After slapping the SBG Ireland fighter, Malignaggi made a few threats of his own, just to make it clear exactly how he feels about McGregor’s longtime friend and teammate.

“Next time it’s a harder slap,” Malignaggi shouted at Lobov. “That was a bitch slap for a bitch. Next time I’m going to slap you like the real bitch that you are, alright? Don’t get in my face and make threats here. I got in your face to promote. Don’t get in my face and make threats here, because I will f-ck you up here, okay!? Next time I will smack the sh-t out of you for real. I smacked you like a little bitch, because that’s what you are right now.

“Understand what is going to happen to you, bro,” he continued. “You’re on a death wish, bro. You’re on a death wish. I’m going to put you in a body bag in June. I’m going to make sure I kill you in June. I’m telling you, you’re gonna wind up in the cemetery after June. You think I’m playing with you!? You disrespect boxing, you piece of sh-t? After all the fighters that have been hurt? Talk about fuck-n’ ‘pads on our hands’? I’m gonna put you through what all their families got put through. You piece of sh-t, I’m gonna f-cking kill you. I’m gonna kill you. I’m gonna kill you.”

Bare Knuckle FC 5 goes down this Saturday, headlined by the bout between Lobov and knight. Former Invicta fighter Christine Ferea will make her debut for the promotion in the co-main event, taking on Britain Hart for BKFC’s 126 lb title. Former UFC longtime UFC action fighter Chris Leben will be making his debut as well, taking on fromer Bellator vet Justin Baesman on the undercard.