Artem Lobov fails to obtain injunction against Conor McGregor for "defamatory" comments
Although most MMA fighters develop thick skins throughout their careers, Artem Lobov appeared to take Conor McGregor's recent insults to heart. Lobov filed a lawsuit against the Irishman, seeking an injunction against "defamatory" comments on Twitter about him.
However, 'The Russian Hammer's efforts were all for naught as Justice Garrett Simons of the High Court refused to provide an injunction against McGregor, citing that the posts were not clearly defamatory.
According to a report by Virgin Media News, Lobov was particularly upset with a deleted November 26 tweet, which saw 'The Notorious' call him a rat.
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The 36-year-old argued that calling him a "rat" destroyed his reputation by suggesting that he was an untrustworthy individual who betrayed people and revealed confidential information.
However, the Irish judge didn't feel Lobov's claims held any weight since interpreting "rat" as an informer was a stretch. The court ruled that Conor McGregor's words would just be viewed as a rant by a trash-talking MMA fighter by any sensible person.
The animosity between the two prize fighters stems from 'The Notorious' allegedly failing to honor an apparent handshake agreement to give Lobov 5% of the proceeds from the sale of Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey.
'The Russian Hammer' claims that he was instrumental in establishing the brand.
When Conor McGregor called out Artem Lobov for a fight to settle their Proper No. Twelve dispute
Last year, Conor McGregor suggested an off-the-book method to settle his legal dispute with Artem Lobov. In a now-deleted Twitter voice clip, McGregor called out 'The Russian Hammer' for a winner-takes-all fight.
Per the Irishman's suggestion, whoever won the fight would have gotten the complete proceeds from his share of the Proper No. Twelve sale proceeds:
"This is a call out to Artem 'the fanny, fairy pad' Lobov. I'm challenging you to a fight tonight. 10:30 p.m. I'll meet you down at SBG Concorde and we'll fight for the whole lot. We'll fight for the whole lot... You're a little fairy, you're a little blouse mate... Answer this f**king callout, yeah? You little blouse!"
Last December, the commercial court, which fast-tracks cases regarding big money disputes, declined to enter the whiskey dispute into its list, citing a scarcity of resources. The case will now proceed at a slower pace in another court.