Inside Conor McGregor's relationship with former…

Inside Conor McGregor's relationship with former friend Artem Lobov

When Conor McGregor burst onto the scene in the UFC almost a decade ago, he did so with Artem Lobov by his side.

The pair were teammates and loyal friends. Throughout McGregor's entire famous run through the featherweight division, the two classic fights with Nate Diaz all the way to his mega fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, Lobov was in McGregor's corner.

It came as a major shock this week to learn that Lobov was suing McGregor. Lobov claims that it was he who came up with the idea for Proper 12 Irish whiskey, the whiskey brand that has made McGregor millions of euro since it's launch four years ago.

"The selling point of my book will be the Proper 12 Whiskey story," Lobov told TalkSport radio last month.

"A few people know, but this was actually my idea. I was the person who came up with the idea to do a whiskey for Conor.

"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 to do my own vodka.

"He said, he was doing one in Iceland and now he’s offering me the chance to do one as well. It looks like a pretty good deal what do you think about that?’"

He continued: "I said, ‘well Conor I’ll tell you one thing. Vodka is the best-selling spirit and it’s definitely something we should look into at some point.

With news breaking this week that a lawsuit between the pair was imminent, McGregor's team issued the following statement:

""Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor," McGregor spokesperson Karen Kessler wrote in a statement. "Any suggestion that the plaintiff has a claim to Proper No. Twelve is incorrect."

Conor McGregor with coach John Kavanagh and Artem Lobov (@TheNotoriousMMA)

While things in the relationship have taken a nasty turn, the duo were once very good friends.

From as far back as seven years ago, the pair have posed for photos posted on each other's Instagram pages.

When McGregor coached the Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2015, he selected Lobov to be a part of the team. As a result of his fine performances on the show, Lobov signed a contract with the UFC.

Lobov had a 2-5 record in the UFC before his release and subsequent retirement from MMA in 2018.

'The Russian Hammer' was also a part of the rivalry between McGregor and Khabib back in 2018. Lobov gave an interview around this time and slammed Khabib for his perceived insults of 'The Notorious.'

Then, in the build-up to UFC 223, Lobov and Khabib had an altercation in the fighters hotel. The next day, McGregor appeared in Brooklyn and the infamous UFC 223 Media day melee broke out.

Dolly's were thrown at buses, arrests were made and the seeds were planted for the biggest UFC fight in history between Khabib and Conor later that year.

McGregor lost that fight and two weeks later, Lobov fought for the last time in the UFC. However, Lobov once again went to bat for McGregor in 2019 when he fought McGregor's former rival Paulie Malignaggi in a bare-knuckle fight for BKFC.

Lobov upset the odds and defeated the former boxing superstar by decision in what was a major upset. Lobov revealed in an interview with the MMA Hour that McGregor was thrilled for his friend.

“I spoke to Conor, he said that was a good performance. I dominated the fight. I pressed the action all the time and he said it was a very good performance and a great win for me,” Lobov said.

Sadly, the pair are no longer as close as they once were, with a hefty legal case expected to rumble on for the foreseeable future.

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