Conor McGregor is being sued by his ex-boyfriend Artem Lobov, who claims he came up with the idea for the MMA star’s wildly successful whiskey brand.

Conor McGregor is being sued by former MMA boyfriend Artem Lobov, who claims he came up with the idea for the Irish star’s successful whiskey company.

The Russian fighter (36) says he played a key role in Proper No. Twelve but were later fired from the company.

The ghost then took off and helped McGregor become the highest-paid sports star in the world last year.

The 34-year-old UFC champion had a combined income of £150m from May 2020 to May 2021 after taking his share of Proper No. Twelve with two co-shareholders for a combined £500m.

But yesterday his former team-mate, known as the ‘Russian Hammer’, began his trial in Dublin’s High Court.

The Russian fighter (36) says he played a key role in Proper No. Twelve but were later fired from the company

According to the Irish Independent, he is expected to claim there was an agreement whereby he received five percent of the proceeds McGregor received from the sale.

Lobov previously claimed McGregor was offered £850,000 but he turned it down.

His lawyer, Dermot McNamara, said: “My client is a retired professional fighter with a masters degree from DCU in finance and capital markets.

“We have commenced High Court proceedings on his behalf to seek a settlement with Mr McGregor in relation to Proper No. To force twelve.

“My client was the original creator and co-founder of the concept to launch an Irish whiskey brand associated with Mr McGregor.

“As these matters are now before the courts, we will not comment further.”

Lobov said in August that he came up with the idea for the whiskey brand while studying at university.

McGregor’s former teammate, known as the ‘Russian Hammer’, lodged his complaint at Dublin’s High Court.

He told TalkSport: “A few people know, but it was actually my idea. I was the one who came up with the idea to make a whiskey for Conor.

The fighter claimed McGregor was first approached by Icelandic strongman Hafþór Björnsson about starting a vodka company.

The Irishman then turned to Lobov for his master’s degree in finance.

The Russian says he heard about the Irish whiskey market at university and pitched the idea to McGregor because he believed there was a gap in the market.

He said: “I told him before you looked any further: ‘This is what I know about Irish whiskey.’ I told him about my university presentation. I told him about the dominance of Irish whiskey and all. He said, ‘Go and see what deal you can make,’ and I went ahead.

Lobov said he then reached out to top distributor Classic Drinks, visited several distilleries and struck a deal for McGregor.

The spirit blew and helped McGregor become the world’s highest-paid sports star last year

But he said, “Conor offered me $1 million, but I turned it down, I didn’t take it. You know, when I was helping Conor with camps in my career, he offered to take me for that camps, but I never took any money from him.

“I said: ‘We have always been friends and we have helped each other. I have never paid you for my camps, so I will not take any money from you for my camps.’

McGregor later presented the first bottle of his new whiskey to Vladimir Putin at the 2018 World Cup final, accompanied by Lobov.

McGregor spokeswoman Karen J. Kessler said it was “wrong” that Lobov had a claim to the trademark.

She said: “Own No Twelve Irish Whiskey is created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor.”