Nicknamed “The Russian Hammer”, former professional mixed martial artist Artem Lobov claims to have been an “extremely close” friend and the main sparring partner of Conor McGregor. As far back as 2016, Lobov alleges he researched the concept of an Irish whiskey brand featuring the MMA champion’s name, to be called “the Notorious”. The Russian fighter, now living in Ireland, holds a Masters degree from Dublin City University in Science and Finance and Capital Markets and believed a tie-in between the global MMA star and a drinks brand made business sense especially as Lobov claims to have knowledge of the…

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