EXCLUSIVE | Artem Lobov explains why Conor McGregor ‘would do great’ in bare knuckle fight

Artem Lobov will soon make his debut as a bare knuckle fighter, as he’s scheduled for a gloveless fight with fellow UFC veteran Jason Knight at BKFC 5 on April 6.

Ahead of this debut, Lobov has not made any secret of his confidence. He expects to accomplish big things under the BKFC banner.

Speaking on the latest stacked episode of BJPENN.com Radio, Artem Lobov shared his belief that his close friend and training partner Conor McGregor would also do very well in the brutal world of bare knuckle fighting — that is, if he’s not “retired.”

“He would do great,” Lobov said when asked how McGregor would fair in a bare knuckle fight. “Connor, you see, what you have to remember about Connor, he is a true fighter. And the proof of that, the fact that after making a hundred million, this guy still wants to fight. If that’s not proof then I don’t know what else is.

“If you were to give a hundred million to every UFC fighter right now, 99.9% of them you would not see them again,” he added. “That’s it, they would be retired. And rightly so. Why not? But Connor is a true fighter. He loves the fight game. So bare knuckle, that would suit him right down to the ground. He would do just fine in it.”

When Artem Lobov makes his bare knuckle debut on April 6, it’s more than likely that Conor McGregor will be watching the pay-per-view. But Lobov doesn’t expect him to be watching long.

He’s predicting a quick and decisive victory.

“Honest to God, the only reason why I think that he might make it into the second round is because the rounds are only two minutes long,” he said. “So that’s the only reason he might make it in the second round. But I’m coming out all guns blazing. Right now especially, I don’t have to worry about takedowns. So I can just go straight for him. I would do that in MMA all the time, and I did do that in MMA all the time, but I always had to hold myself back a little bit because of the wrestling. Now I don’t have to hold myself back no more. So you get to see full steam ahead. Choo Choo motherf***ers.”

How do you think Artem Lobov will do in his upcoming BKFC fight? Do you think Conor McGregor would perform well in a bare knuckle bout?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/25/2019.