Longtime Conor McGregor friend and teammate Artem Lobov appears to be on the outs with the Irish star — and is suing McGregor for millions over funds the former UFC champ allegedly failed to pay out following the launch of Proper No. 12 whiskey.
Proper 12 has long been considered a brilliant business move by McGregor, who has reportedly earned hundreds of millions of dollars from the venture. But according to Lobov, who recently filed suit over what he says was a promised 5% cut, getting into the whiskey business was his idea.
Per reports by TMZ and The Irish Independent, among others, Lobov has filed suit in Ireland’s high court. A statement from Lobov’s attorney, Dermot McNamara, stated in part that “We have issued High Court proceedings on his [Lobov’s] behalf to enforce an agreement with Mr McGregor regarding the Proper No. 12 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.”
Proper No. 12 launched in 2018, with the name a reference to McGregor’s childhood neighborhood of Crumlin, which resides in postal district 12 in Dublin, Ireland. In response to Lobov’s suit, a statement from McGregor spokesperson Karen J. Kessler stated that “Any suggestion that the plaintiff has a claim to Proper No. Twelve is incorrect.”
McGregor was last seen in action in his July 2021 defeat to Dustin Poirier, which came after he broke his leg in the rubber match of the pair’s trilogy. As for Lobov, he retired from combat sports following a loss to Olympic silver medalist boxer Denys Berinchyk in a bare-knuckle bout last year, which dropped his record in the sport to 2-2.
In MMA, Artem Lobov posted a 13-15-1, 1NC record, but joined the UFC as part of The Ultimate Fighter 22, as a member of McGregor’s team. While Lobov lost his fight to get into the TUF house, McGregor later brought his SBG Ireland teammate back as an alternate.
Lobov would go on to fight for the UFC from 2015 to 2018, and appeared in memorable bouts with the likes of Cub Swanson, Andre Fili, and Michael Johnson.
