You all doubted. You all saw Artem Lobov's MMA record and Paulie Malignaggi's boxing record and thought, "This MMA never was isn't going to beat a former boxing world champion."
Who are you to doubt The GOAT?
Bare Knuckle Fighting is the new king of sport, and Artem Lobov sits on the iron throne.
Fair credit to Malignaggi. He used his jab effectively and tried his best to slow down the substantial charge of Lobov. It didn't matter. Lobov, in true GOAT fashion, kept moving forward, making Malignaggi uncomfortable. By the end of the fight, Malignaggi had no answers. All he could do was move backward, trying his best to evade the attack of Lobov. Malignaggi couldn't even muster up the energy to throw a counter shot, too tired and sore, not willing to expose himself to the fists of Lobov.
After five rounds of fighting, the judges came to the correct decision, awarding the fight, the rivalry, and the sport to Artem Lobov.
Listen to Malignaggi in his post-fight interview. Listen closely because you're never going to hear from him again. He knew he made a mistake stepping in the ring with Lobov. He tried to make every excuse in the book. His hand was hurt. He didn't get hit clean. The judges screwed up. The company screwed him. He didn't know the rules. Florida Man. He could not come to grips with the truth that he had been out-boxed in a boxing match by a mediocre MMA fighter.
Don't doubt The GOAT.
Thoughts on the undercard
- I would never have predicted Dakota Cochrane would beat Chris Leben in a bareknuckle fight. Indeed the most unpredictable sport.
- Johnny Bedford was looking like the Ultimo Dragon with all that gold. BKFC has held six events and already has its first double champion. Thanks, Conor.
- Good performance by Julian Lane against Tom Shoaff but there is only one Hellboy in combat sports, and his name is Joachim Hansen.
- Cool to see Joey Beltran knocking dudes out again. People forget that after he KO'd Houston Alexander and Rolles Gracie people were calling him The Hype Killer.*
* They were not.
- The judges are cowards for scoring Joe Riggs vs. Walber Barros a draw. Riggs won. Joe Riggs always wins. Meet him in the hospital, Barros.
- Jim Alers really rolled up Elvin Brito with that uppercut.
- Hopefully, Drew Lipton got paid well because he got blasted by David Mundell.
You can see the full results below:
- Artem Lobov def. Paulie Malignaggi via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Dakota Cochrane def. Chris Leben via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
- BKFC and Police Gazette lightweight titles: Johnny Bedford def. Reggie Barnett Jr. via unanimous decision (47-45, 47-45, 48-44)
- Julian Lane def. Tom Shoaff via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
- Joey Beltran def. Jamie Campbell via KO in Round 2, 1:50
- Walber Barros vs. Joe Riggs, unanimous draw (47-47, 47-47, 47-47)
- Abdiel Velazquez def. Travis Thompson via unanimous decision (49-46 48-47 50-45)
- Jim Alers def. Elvin Brito via KO in Round 1, 0:45
- Chris Boffil def. Jared Hayes via TKO in Round 3, 1:55
- David Mundell def. Drew Lipton via KO in Round 1, 1:35
