Conor McGregor's teammate Artem Lobov rejected a $1million reward from the UFC star after inspiring his Proper Twelve whiskey brand.
McGregor has enjoyed huge success inside and outside of the octagon, where he has been generating huge wealth from a host of business investments. The Irishman launched his Proper Twelve whiskey brand in 2018 and used his huge social media platforms to promote the brand to his millions of followers.
Last year, McGregor elected to sell his majority stake in the business in a deal worth up to $600million (£430m). However McGregor's teammate Lobov has revealed he was the brains behind the idea after McGregor held a conversation with strongman Thor Bjornsson about starting a vodka business.
“The selling point of my book will be the Proper 12 Whiskey story. A few people know, but this was actually my idea," Lobov said during an interview with talkSPORT. “After the second Diaz fight, me and Conor were in the gym and we were talking one day and he says to me, ‘Artem, Thor, – ‘The Mountain’ out of Game of Thrones – I was chatting to him, and he’s offered me [the chance] to do my own vodka.
“I said to him before you even look any further, ‘here’s what I know about Irish whiskey.’ 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. 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. I said, ‘we’ve always been friends and helped each other. I never paid you for my camps so I’m not gonna accept money from you for my camps either.’"
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Lobov has retired from MMA after a long career in the sport, but has continued to stay friends with McGregor after being a key cog in his career. McGregor continues to generate millions every years despite suffering a decline in his fighting career after back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier last year.
He earned an estimated $180m in 2021 from his two fights and the sale of his majority stake, which placed him top of Forbes' fighting rich-list for the preceding 12 months. This is not the first time McGregor has earned significant wealth at once, having also earned an estimated £100m from his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.
