• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Conor McGregor is being sued for millions of dollars by a former close friend

Home> MMA

Published 23:39 23 Nov 2022 GMT

Conor McGregor is being sued for millions of dollars by a former close friend

Artem Lobov claims he was instrumental in building the Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey brand is entitled to five per cent of the profits.

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins

Conor McGregor is facing a multi-million-dllar lawsuit from former close friend and training partner Artem Lobov.

The ex-Russian UFC star is suing the Irishman over a dispute stemming from the sale of McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, according to a report from The Irish Independent.

Lobov has initiated a High Court action claiming he was instrumental in helping create the whiskey brand.

Everett Collection Inc / Alamy

Advert

He believes he is entitled to five per cent of the money the former UFC double champ made from the sale of the whiskey business.

McGregor, Paradigm CEO Audie Attar and businessman Ken Austin reportedly sold their majority stakes in the company to Proximo Sports for $600 million (A$891m) in April 2021.

The MMA icon is said to have made $150 million (A$222m) from the sale.

Lobov’s solicitor, Dermot McNamara told the Irish Independent: “My client is a retired professional fighter with a master’s degree from DCU in Finance and Capital Markets.

Advert

“We have issued High Court proceedings on his behalf to enforce an agreement with Mr McGregor regarding the Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand.”

“My client was the initial creator and co-founder of the concept to launch an Irish whiskey brand associated with Mr. McGregor.

“As these matters are now before the court, we will not be making any further comment.”

McGregor’s representative Karen J Kessler issued a statement, via Bloody Elbow, refuting the claims.

Advert

They said: “Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor.”

Lobov and McGregor were once close friends and training partners at Team SBG Ireland.

The Russian was heavily involved in McGregor’s feuds with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Paulie Malignaggi.

REUTERS / Alamy

Advert

Back in August, Lobov claimed he was the brains behind the brand and even went on to set up the business deals for McGregor.

He told TalkSport: “I said to him before you even look any further (about Vodka), ‘here’s what I know about Irish whiskey.’ I told him about my presentation from college.

“I told him about the dominance of Irish whiskey and all of that. He said, ‘you go off and see what deal you can put together’ and I went on my way.

“I went on and met all different whiskey distilleries. I called some and met some in person. I did my research and put a beautiful deal together.

Advert

“Once the deal was ready, I went to Conor and I said, ‘Conor, I have the deal ready for you. This is going to be a billion-dollar deal, no messing here.’ I’m not sure if he took me seriously or not at the time with the billion dollars.”

Lobov claims McGregor offered him $1 million but he turned it down, and he never accepted any money from his former training partner.

SPORTbible reached out to Conor McGregor and Paradigm Sports for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy.

Topics: MMA, UFC, Conor McGregor

Jayden Collins
Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at SPORTbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

a day ago
3 days ago
  • a day ago

    Conor McGregor could finally make UFC return in blockbuster event as leaked DM sends fans into meltdown

    Conor McGregor has teased a monstrous fight as he plots his UFC return.

    MMA
  • a day ago

    Donald Trump and Dana White 'confirm' massive UFC event to take place in The White House

    The US President made a huge announcement about a historic UFC event.

    MMA
  • 3 days ago

    Paddy Pimblett sounds off on 'embarrassing' Charles Oliveira for what happened before devastating Ilia Topuria knockout

    Paddy Pimblett called out Charles Oliveira's 'amateur' gameplan against Ilia Topuria.

    MMA
  • 3 days ago

    Israel Adesanya in fiery incident with UFC fan after hearing him make comment about Jon Jones

    Jon Jones recently chose to retire from the UFC rather than fight Tom Aspinall.

    MMA
  • Conor McGregor drops comeback hint with new training footage after Ilia Topuria wins at UFC 317
  • Conor McGregor forced to delete post after being destroyed by Game of Thrones actor
  • Joe Rogan makes feelings clear on Ilia Topuria as UFC 317 star looks to replicate Conor McGregor feat
  • Conor McGregor releases statement after losing civil assault case