Artem Lobov sues Conor McGregor over Proper 12 whiskey deal
They were once inseparable and appeared to be best friends, but now a lawsuit filed by Artem Lobov may change his relationship with Conor McGregor.
Lobov is is alleging that he was pivotal in developing McGregor’s Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey, and as a result is suing him for millions of dollars.
The former two-division UFC champion McGregor sold a majority stake in for $600 million in 2021. Lobov reportedly claims that for his efforts in creating Proper Twelve, he has an agreement that entitles him to five percent of the money McGregor made from the sale.
Journalist Shane Phelan of The Irish Independent has reported that Lobov “alleges he was instrumental in developing the brand that became Proper No. Twelve but ended up squeezed out as the spirit took off.”
“My client is a retired professional fighter with a master’s degree from DCU in Finance and Capital Markets,” Lobov’s attorney, Dermot McNamara said. “We have issued High Court proceedings on his 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.”
McGregor’s representatives refute the claims, stating:
“Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor,” Karen J Kessler said.
Lobov contends that McGregor was initially going to launch a Vodka company, but that he was able to help change his mind.
“I was the person who came up with the idea to do a whiskey for Conor,” Lobov said.
“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. 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.
“Conor offered me $1M but I turned it down, I didn’t accept it. You know, throughout my career whenever I have helped Conor with camps, he offered to pay me for them camps, but I never accepted money from him.”
This one will now play out in the courts.
