On Saturday night at Bare Knuckle FC 6, Paulie Malignaggi finally got to settle his beef with Conor McGregor when he stepped into the ring with McGregor’s proxy, Artem Lobov. Unfortunately for Malignaggi, things didn’t go his way, losing a unanimous decision to the former MMA fighter in a competitive bout. It was a decision Malignaggi was openly critical of, believing himself to have convincingly won the fight. But perhaps even worse for Malignaggi is the damage inflicted on his hands by the bout.

Yesterday, the former world champion boxer took to Instagram where he made a statement about the fight and revealed the damage suffered by both of his hands. We are not physicians here at MMA Fighting, but those hands sure do appear to be broken.

“Life is sometimes about being adventurous and trying new things. Many thought I was crazy for trying my hand at bare knuckle combat and while unfortunately I may not have been born with very durable hands, it is still an experience I get to look back on and say I lived it. People have always had very little expectations of me in my life but I can proudly say I’ve always fought my way to a better life. In life we all have obstacles and I’ve always been driven most when faced with adversity. In the end, despite my brittle hands (4 surgeries on my right hand) I have been able to accomplish more as mainly a 1 handed fighter than most fighters accomplish with 2 hands. And I did it with no shortcuts and having fought some amazing fighters, travelled to some amazing places and met some amazing people along the way. You always wonder if as you get older you still have the ability to dig down when things get tough. After 2 rounds Saturday night I sat in my corner now knowing I would be a 1 handed fighter for the remainder of this fight and I am proud I continued on and showed myself I still had a willingness to dig deep when faced with adversity as I found myself once again in a familiar predicament of having a damaged hand with a determined opponent across the ring coming to rip my head off yet now I was competing in a new form of combat. I assure you its not an enviable position but I’m glad I stayed true to myself as a man and as a fighter in the moment and continued to fight despite having to obviously adjust my strategy. Respect to [Artem Lobov] who always shows up to fight and give his best no mater what day or place or at what weight and respect to him for the fight on Saturday. Obviously I feel like I won the fight but that is in no way meant as a disrespect to him. I hope he can take the momentum he gained from this result and make plenty of money for himself and his family in his career . Here are some pics of my hands after Saturday nights fight.”

Malignaggi had notoriously brittle hands throughout his boxing career and one of the major concerns for his fans heading into his first bare-knuckle fight was how they would fare without the added support of gloves and wraps. Given the above pictures, it appears those concerns were well-founded. On top of that, those hand issues have finally brought about the end of Malignaggi’s fighting career.

Speaking with SiriusXM Boxing yesterday, Malignaggi confirmed that his fight with Lobov would be his last because his hands cannot take the strain anymore.

“I’m done. You always try to look for the next adventurous thing but I’m gonna have to look for the next adventurous thing that’s outside of fighting,” Malignaggi said. “I don’t think I can keep looking for it in fighting. I think I was always tough enough to be a fighter but my hands never cooperated with me the way I wanted them to. I’m glad I can say proudly that I probably accomplished more as a one-handed fighter than most fighters do as two-handed fighters. Even despite the issues I was able to have a career as a professional fighter but I think I’ve strained out every ounce of energy my hands can give me. I don’t think my hands can go on anymore.”

That’s unfortunate for Conor McGregor who could have had a lucrative boxing match against Malignaggi down the road and, given how well Lobov did against the former boxer, one that McGregor may well have won.

Malignaggi retires from the sport with a 36-8 record in traditional boxing and an 0-1 record in bare-knuckle boxing.

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MUST-READ STORIES

Message. Artem Lobov reveals Conor McGregor’s message to him following Paulie Malignaggi win.

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Rematch. New Bellator champ Rafael Lovato Jr. open to immediate rematch with Gegard Mousasi.

Curious. Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler in the works for UFC Newark main event.

New deal. Former champion Jose Aldo signs new multi-year UFC deal.

Assault. Ralph Gracie’s student Lincoln Jeferson Pereira arrested for assault of Flavio Almeida.

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

The Monday Morning Analyst.

UFC 239 stare downs.

Ben Askren scrum.

Behind the scenes at BKFC 6.

Anatomy of Ryan Bader.

Free fights.

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LISTEN UP

The Co-Main Event. Discussing UFC Minneapolis and BKFC 6.

Anik & Florian. Discussing the upcoming UFC Minneapolis.

Eurobash. Discussing Bellator London and Cage Warriors 100

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

France legalizing MMA. UFC Paris gonna be right behind.

The champ is not pleased.

And Askren is feeling himself.

Call out.

Beef.

Sugar ain’t taking no ish.

That ain’t half bad.

Impressive.

Lawler vs. Condit.

You see it?

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Misha Cirkunov (14-5) vs. Jimmy Crute (10-0); UFC Vancouver, Sept. 14.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2017: Kevin Lee submitted Michael Chiesa with a rear-naked choke at UFC Oklahoma City.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The GOAT out here retiring professional boxers. I’ll never doubt the man again.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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