Conor McGregor has settled a lawsuit filed against him by former teammate and friend Artem Lobov over profits from the sale of his whiskey brand Proper No. 12.
On Wednesday, Lobov’s attorney Andrew Walker appeared in court and told the judge that a settlement had been reached and the case no longer needed to go to trial. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Lobov initially filed the lawsuit claiming he was due 5% of the sale following a verbal agreement between the fighters that he would help launch McGregor’s whiskey brand. McGregor denied that he ever made any such agreement.
McGregor, along with his business partners, eventually sold Proper No. 12 to Proximo Spirits — the same company that owns Jose Cuervo tequila — for $600 million in 2021. As a result, McGregor reportedly earned over $100 million for his part of the sale.
At the time, McGregor remained the face of Proper No. 12, but Proximo eventually cut ties with the fighter after a court in Ireland found him liable in a civil lawsuit filed against him over an alleged sexual assault that took place in 2018.
Lobov claimed that he was “muscled out” of the business after Proper No. 12 launched and became a moneymaker for McGregor and his other business partners.
After Lobov’s attorney announced that a settlement had been reached, McGregor’s attorney Mark Lyman read a statement to the court from the Irish superstar while adding that he was now staying focused on his return to fighting, which is planned for “this summer.”
“I want to thank him for his hard work for my whiskey business,” McGregor said about Lobov in the statement (via the Irish Independent).
Per numerous reports, Lobov didn’t want to speak about the settlement after the court hearing ended but he said that he was “happy with the resolution” before exiting.
At one time, McGregor and Lobov were very close friends and training partners working with the same team and coaches in Ireland. Lobov stood by McGregor after the former two-division UFC champion launched a very public attack on a bus while trying to go after Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2018.
But that relationship was eventually severed after Lobov filed the lawsuit against McGregor. Now that legal action has been settled after both fighters agreed to a deal before the lawsuit could go to trial.
Right now, McGregor is preparing for his planned comeback to the UFC for his first fight in five years after suffering a broken leg in his previous outing back in 2021. All signs are pointing towards McGregor headlining the upcoming UFC 329 card in July 11 in Las Vegas as part of the latest International Fight Week festivities.
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