BKFC Prez Believes McGregor Will Be Ringside at Malignaggi-Lobov

Former two division world champion Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi is gearing up for his bare knuckle fight with UFC veteran Artem "The Russian Hammer" Lobov.

Their bout headlines the upcoming event for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), this Saturday night live on pay-per-view from Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall in Tampa, Fla.

Their rivalry stems from Lobov's close relationship with UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

Malignaggi and McGregor have been feuding for the last two years - which began with an ugly fallout from their sparring sessions.

McGregor hired Malignaggi as a sparring partner to prepare for a scheduled boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

But then McGregor had his handlers leak certain photos and clips from the sparring sessions - which Malignaggi claims were doctored in order to create the narrative that McGregor dominated their gym battles.

Malignaggi has been so irate over McGregor's actions, that he slapped Lobov in the face at a media event - and then spit in Lobov's face a few weeks later.

The President of BKFC, David Feldman, believes there is a good chance that McGregor will be ringside in order to provide his full support for Lobov.

“They won’t give confirmation yet but if I’m a betting man, I’m betting he’s coming,” BKFC president David Feldman told MMAFighting.

“They’re not going to give confirmation and if they are, they’re not going to tell us so we put it out there ‘hey Conor McGregor’s coming to the fight’ and then he’s mobbed.”

“So it’s not going to happen like that but from the conversations I’m having, if I was going to bet on it, he’ll be there but who knows.”