BILOXI, MS. (November 14, 2019) – Before they square off this Saturday night for their highly anticipated Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship rematch, Artem Lobov and Jason Knight reflected on the action and drama of the greatest fight in BKFC history while previewing their showdown that is set to headline BKFC 9 from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss.
For Lobov, this will be his third BKFC main event, having most recently defeated rival former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi in June after the victory over Knight. Lobov discussed his mindset and training leading up to the first fight and how he will be an improved fighter in the sequel.
“It’s good to be back,” said Lobov. “That fight was my first ever bare knuckle fight and I didn’t know what to expect last time, but I do now. I’m able to enjoy it and anticipate what’s coming. I’m getting ready for the storm Saturday night.
“When I was connecting with some of the very clean shots against Knight I thought, he’s not going to get up from this now,” added Lobov. “But to my surprise he kept coming forward and getting back up. To be honest that’s the reason I got a little fatigued. I was throwing everything because I was sure I’d be able to put him away, but there he was standing in front of me. It was a crazy experience.
“When I was in MMA, striking was my main discipline and strength, so I spent most of training working on wrestling and grappling,” continued Lobov in the video. “Now that I’ve trained for a whole year in just boxing, my striking has gone up another level. The progress has been phenomenal and I look forward to showcasing that on Saturday night. I truly believe I will stop Jason Knight.”
For the Mississippi-native Knight, he will have the opportunity not only to right what he considers the judges’ errors in the first fight, but he has a chance for a signature victory in front of his hometown crowd. Knight talks about that inspiration fighting at home, stopping Lobov in the rematch and more.
“I live about an hour from here, so I’m no stranger to the Coliseum,” said Knight. “I’ve seen a lot of great shows here and I’m excited to come back and perform in front of my fans. The opponent doesn’t even matter, but I’m glad it’s Artem. We put on a war in April and I’m excited to be back here.
“The last fight I didn’t quite close the show,” continued Knight in the video. “I didn’t get him out of there like I wanted to. This time I’m going to make sure I finish him and put an exclamation point on it. I for sure thought I was going to be tougher than he was and that I could take more than he could. He was just as tough as I was though and I’m going to bring it again into this fight.
“We both got caught a few times in that fight and were both hurt pretty badly at times,” pointed out Knight. “But if you go back and watch The Road to Lobov vs. Knight II, you see that he thought the fight was over after four rounds because he was gassed. I could have gone four or five more rounds. I had a second wind and I was ready to fight. All I wanted to do was put him away and all he wanted to do was get the round out of the way.”
“BKFC 9” will be broadcast across the United States and Canada, exclusively on pay-per-view through MultiVision Media, Inc., on all major television distribution outlets for $29.99. It will also be available to BKFC’s international broadcast partners worldwide and via stream to all in-home and out-of-home connected devices through FITE.
Tickets for the live event are on sale now at www.bareknuckle.tv or the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office.
