Conor McGregor’s shut good friend slaps the UFC fighter with multimillion-dollar go well with for whiskey royalties

Ex-fighter Artem Lobov is suing shut good friend Conor McGregor, claiming he had the thought for the Proper No. Twelve whiskey model.

McGregor and two companions bought a majority stake of the model to Proximo Spirits for $600 million final yr. Lobov is looking for a share of the income.

Lobov and McGregor beforehand educated collectively.

Conor McGregor earlier than a light-weight struggle with Dustin Poirier throughout UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
(Thomas King/Sportsfile by way of Getty Images)

Lobov’s lawyer, Dermot McNamara, instructed The Irish Independent his consumer contributed to the model’s creation.

“My consumer is a retired skilled fighter with a grasp’s diploma from DCU in finance and capital markets,” McNamara mentioned. “We have issued High Court proceedings on his behalf to implement an settlement with Mr. McGregor relating to the Proper No. Twelve whiskey model. My consumer was the preliminary creator and co-founder of the idea to launch an Irish whiskey model related to Mr. McGregor. As these issues at the moment are earlier than the court docket, we won’t be making any additional remark.”

In an interview with Talksport, Lobov urged he had a take care of a whiskey distillery in place and offered it to McGregor.

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Conor McGregor fights Dustin Poirier throughout UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas July 10, 2021.
(Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports)

“The promoting level of my e book would be the Proper 12 Whiskey story. Just a few folks know, however this was really my thought. I used to be the one that got here up with the thought to do a whiskey for Conor,” Lobov mentioned.

“Once the deal was prepared, I went to Conor and I mentioned, ‘Conor, I’ve the deal prepared for you. This goes to be a billion-dollar deal, no messing right here.’ I’m unsure if he took me severely or not on the time with the billion {dollars}. We continued engaged on it and, as you’ll be able to see, it was an enormous success. I’m actually completely satisfied to see that, and I’m actually completely satisfied to be part of it.”

Conor McGregor, left, and Dustin Poirier of their light-weight struggle throughout UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, July 10, 2021.
(Thomas King/Sportsfile by way of Getty Images)

Lobov additionally mentioned he declined a $1 million supply from McGregor. The lawsuit states Lobov is looking for 5% of the proceeds from the 2021 sale. The share would symbolize $30 million.

McGregor has not commented on the lawsuit.

A consultant for the UFC star instructed The Irish Independent Lobov’s claims weren’t correct.

“Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor,” spokesperson Karen J. Kessler mentioned in a press release.