We’re only two days away arguably the most eagerly anticipated fights of 2019. On Saturday night (Sunday morning here in Asia), Artem Lobov and Paulie Malagnaggi will face off at BKFC 6.

For Malignaggi, it will be the first time he has fought since retiring from boxing just over two years ago, and will also be his bare knuckle fighting debut. Lobov made his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut in April, when he beat Jason Knight via a unanimous decision, after a five round war.

As interesting as this fight is, with Malignaggi being a former boxing world champion and Lobov making a name for himself in the world of MMA, obviously most of the hype surrounding this fight, is based on the bad blood between the two.

Bad blood that started two years ago after Malignaggi took part in a couple of sparring sessions with Lobov’s close friend and teammate, Conor McGregor. Malignaggi wasn’t happy with the footage released of the sessions and he and Team McGregor have been going back and forth ever since.

And if the bad blood ran thick before the lead up to this fight, it runs even deeper now. When the two have met since the fight was announced in April, it’s led to Malignaggi slapping Lobov on one occasion and spitting at him on a different occasion.

So when the pair meet this weekend, there’s going to be a lot at stake. And as you would expect, McGregor has helped prepare Lobov for their showdown. As ‘The Russian Hammer’ told TMZ Sports.

Certainly one man is going to have to leave the ring with their tail between their legs. In interviews this week, both fighters have said that they’re expecting an easy fight. Malignaggi said that he’s going to beat Lobov to a pulp. And Lobov said that fighting Malignaggi is no challenge.

It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Bare Knuckles Fighting Championship president David Feldman, expects McGregor to be at the fight.

Lobov and Malignaggi will star in the main event at BKFC 6, which goes down this Saturday night at the Florida State Fairgrounds, in Tampa, Florida.

Who do you think walks away with the ‘W’ and who walks away with their tail between their legs, at BKFC 6?

See also:

Ricky Hatton Surprised To See Malignaggi Compete In Bare Knuckle Fight