Conor McGregor Reacts to ‘Rat’ Ex-Teammate Who’s Suing Him Over His Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey Brand
Conor McGregor of Ireland walks in the octagon before his lightweight bought against Dustin Poirier during UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3 at T-Mobile Arena on July 10, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
In August, while promoting his upcoming book, Russian ex-MMA fighter Artem Lobov claimed that the idea for Proper No. Twelve — the successful Irish Whiskey brand founded by Lobov’s former teammate and friend, Conor McGregor — was his.
Even though Lobov’s claim included that McGregor had offered to pay him $1 million for his work on the brand, Lobov this month launched a lawsuit against McGregor.
In a since-deleted tweet, McGregor posted a recording of him singing a tune with the lyrics “Artem is a rat.” The clip can be heard in the below video.
Lobov claims he played a significant role in the formation and early legwork of Proper No. Twelve and is seeking a 5% cut of the $600 million McGregor sold the brand to Proximo Spirits for, which equates to $30 million.
“Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor,” McGregor spokesperson Karen Kessler said in a statement. “Any suggestion that the plaintiff has a claim to Proper No. Twelve is incorrect.”
Lobov says McGregor approached him about launching an Icelandic vodka brand, and Lobov did some research and pitched the idea of an Irish whiskey brand, instead.
“With the whiskey, there was a bit more to the story about how that went about and what happened, but I don’t want to share that yet,” Lobov said in August. “I’m hoping my book does well and I will tell the story in the book.
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