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Lobov defeats Malignaggi at Bare Knuckle FC 6

Alex Menendez / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Veteran mixed martial arts fighter Artem Lobov defeated former professional boxer Paulie Malignaggi in the main event of Bare Knuckle Fight Club 6 at Tampa's Expo Hall on Saturday night.

Lobov won the highly anticipated fight via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 48-47.

Lobov, a former teammate of Conor McGregor, pushed hard through most of the five-round battle - a strategy that ultimately helped him move to 2-0 on the bare-knuckle circuit.

"It was an emotional fight," Lobov said, according to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com. "As a result, I came in a little bit on the back foot more than usual but I still pressed, I was still stalking him. That's a nice decision win for me."

Afterward, the two fighters embraced in the ring in a show of respect following a week of trash talk leading up to the bout.

For Malignaggi, the loss also appears to have been the final bell in his fighting career.

"Maybe just maybe this wasn't meant to be," he told Martin. "I'm 38 years old. I'm too old to start campaigning off of a loss. I would have done this again. I would have considered coming back. I thought I was winning pretty easily. I'm done."

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