The success of Conor McGregor’s whiskey business has played a big part in the former Irish UFC champion being consistently among the sport’s highest-paid superstars – but none of this would have happened without him. help from Artem Lobov, revealed the ‘Russian Hammer’.

McGregor launched his Proper No. Twelve blend of Irish whiskey in 2018, a drink named after the Dublin suburb he grew up in and which immediately became a centerpiece of the MMA star’s financial empire – particularly after he and his business partners sold their controlling stake for $600 million last year.

And speaking to talkSPORT, former UFC fighter Lobov – who lives and trains in Dublin – said he played a key role in helping McGregor establish the successful brand.

“A few people know this, but it was actually my idea. It was me who had the idea to make a whiskey for Conor“, explained Lobov.

“After the second [Nate] Diaz is fighting, me and Conor were in the gym and we were talking one day and he said to me, ‘Artem, Thor, – ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones – I was talking to him, and he proposed [an opportunity] make my own vodka.

“He said he was doing one in Iceland and now he’s offering me the chance to do one too. Sounds like a good deal, what do you think?”

Coincidentally, Lobov, who holds a master’s degree in finance, had studied the whiskey market in Ireland as part of a presentation and was quick to tell McGregor that there was a wide gap in the country for the creation of a new whiskey company.

“I told him before you even looked any further, “here’s what I know about Irish whiskey”. I told him about my college presentation. I told him about the dominance of Irish whiskey and all that. He said, “Go away and see what deal you can make,” and I continued on my way.”

Lobov added that he had gained contacts in the industry while working in a Dublin hotel before his mixed martial arts career took off – something he said was crucial to his knowledge of the game. topic.

“Luckily for me, when I was studying at university, I worked at the bar at the Radisson hotel and had a friend who worked at the bar with me.,” he explained.

“We were just two 18 year olds. Obviously I left and did my own thing, but Ivan stayed on working in the hospitality industry and worked his way up to become a general manager of a hotel.

“He put me in touch with a gentleman by the name of Niall from Classic Drinks, one of Ireland’s leading drinks distribution companies. Niall was kind enough to meet me, at the Radisson in fact, and he was very generous with his information.

“Once I had this information, I continued and met all the different whiskey distilleries. I called some and met some in person. I did my research and got a great deal.”

Once Lobov crunched the facts and figures, he was sure he had found an extremely viable business opportunity – and he quickly pitched it to both McGregor and his manager, Audie Attar of Paradigm Sports Management.

“Once the deal was ready, I went to Conor and said, ‘Conor, I have the deal ready for you. This is going to be a billion dollar deal, no mess here. I don’t know if he took me seriously or not back then with the billion dollars“, said Lobov.

“I introduced Audie [Attar] and the rest of the paradigm [Sports Management] team on my terms and all the people I was already working with, and then we got started.

“We kept working on it and as you can see it was a huge success. I’m really happy to see this and I’m really happy to be a part of it.”

But given the millions his whiskey business has added to his bank account, one might have expected McGregor to line Lobov’s pockets a bit – especially after last year’s big sell-off.

But the Russian hammer would not accept a penny from one of the richest athletes in the world.

“Conor offered me a million dollars but I refused, I didn’t accept it,” he explained.

“You know, throughout my career, whenever I’ve helped Conor with camps, he’s offered to pay me for those camps, but I’ve never accepted any money from him.

“I said, ‘We’ve always been friends and we’ve helped each other. I’ve never paid you for my camps so I won’t accept any money from you for my camps either.‘”

Lobov promised more details would be revealed in his autobiography which he has been working on since retiring from combat sports shortly after being defeated by Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk in a hand-to-hand boxing contest. naked in 2021.

He has fought in the UFC seven times and was also known for beating former world champion Paulie Malignaggi in a bare-knuckle boxing match in 2019.