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UFC star Conor McGregor hit with second lawsuit for branding Artem Lobov ‘a rat’ during ‘social media barrage’ related to Proper 12 Irish Whiskey dispute
Conor McGregor is set to be sued for a second time by his former friend and training partner Artem Lobov, who he recently branded ‘a rat’ on social media.
According to the , Lobov claims McGregor embarked on a 'concerted social media barrage’ with the intent of harassing, intimidating, and defaming him after he filed a legal claim in relation to Proper Twelve Whiskey last month.
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Following a few days of silence, McGregor took to Twitter with an uncomplimentary song about Lobov, who is taking him to court.
“Artem is a rat, na na na na! Hey! Na na, na na! Hey! Artem is a rat, na na na na. Hey! Rat,” he chanted.
Lobov also claims that McGregor’s father Tony harassed him directly via Instagram, something Notorious referred to during his various rants about Lobov on social media.
Since then, the 36-year-old has outlined his allegations in an affidavit filed with the Commercial Court, as he seeks further damages ‘not least for defamation.’
McGregor and Lobov publicly fell out when 'The Russian Hammer' claimed he played a pivotal role in setting up Proper Twelve before being pushed out of the business.
“A few people know, but this was actually my idea. I was the person who came up with the idea to do a whisky for Conor,” he told talkSPORT in August.
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“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.”
Just over a year prior, McGregor and two other investors sold their stakes in Proper Twelve for $600million [£503million] and the UFC star became the richest man in sport as a result.
Lobov’s initial lawsuit claims an agreement existed that entitled him to five per cent of the $180million [£151million] McGregor made from the sale – but the MMA icon denies ever making that agreement.
An affidavit filed by McGregor’s solicitor claims Lobov said in 2019: “I swear on my child’s life I will not take a cent out of the whisky deal.”
McGregor and Lobov’s legal battle will most likely drag on for the majority of 2023 which will hopefully see the former dual-weight UFC champion's return to fighting after a long layoff.
The Irishman has been sidelined since July 2021 due to injury but is now fully healed and says he will book a fight in February, as long as his ongoing issue with the UFC’s drug testing agency doesn’t get in the way.
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