As seen in a grainy video from April 3, 2018, a semi-furious Khabib Nurmagomedov and his entourage could hardly contain themselves. Ganging up on Artem Lobov for his controversial statements, ‘The Eagle’ made sure he made his points crystal clear. “Never stay stuff like that anymore,” the fighter had noted, after a sound that closely resembled a slap. Safe to say, the message didn’t go down too well… Less with Lobov, and more with his then-close friend, longtime training partner at SBG Ireland, and the reason behind Lobov’s UFC contract, Conor McGregor. The retaliation was swift and severe.

They attacked a bus carrying the Dagestani along with Rose Namajunas, Michael Chiesa, Ray Borg, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, UFC VP of Athlete Development Reed Harris among others. Chaos erupted as McGregor hurled a metal trolley at the window, injuring Chiesa (causing a big cut on his forehead) and Borg (eye injury), forcing both to withdraw from their fights. Namajunas was also shaken, nearly pulling out of her title defense. “He’s going to jail,” was Dana White’s first reaction as he frantically entered a room where the fighters were awaiting their next ride. Khabib, on the other hand, seemed done with the Irish’s antics: “Just tell me where [you want to fight], and that’s it. Why do you need to come here [and terrorize everyone]?” But what if we told you, it was all for nothing?

Meaning: Conor McGregor’s rage was unfounded, and Khabib never did what he was accused of. Well, it’s not us saying this but retired MMA veteran Chael Sonnen who discussed the controversy. Appearing on his namesake YouTube channel on May 23, he stated, “I did not really think that Khabib slapped Artem. I know Artem, and I don’t think that Artem felt that he was slapped. I think that Khabib came up and, in talking to him—you know, guys will kind of grab each other—and he kind of grabbed him. It was almost a nice embrace. That would be very open for interpretation, but almost, I think that Khabib was kind of trying to pull him in,” said Sonnen.

“He kind of pulled him forehead to forehead. He kind of lowered his voice so other people didn’t hear. But there was a moment—there was a moment. It’s called a collar tie. There was a moment when Khabib grabbed him, that Artem pulled back. But outside of that pullback, it was actually far closer to an embrace,” the 48-year-old further said. Notably, this is the second time ‘the American Gangster’ made similar statements.

Back in late 2022, Sonnen had claimed, “I don’t think Khabib slapped him. I think Khabib said ‘hello’ to him… Slap is instant. But the removal of slap is instant (too). Khabib put his hand there, but he kept it there. He was looking him (Artem) in the eye like he was trying to talk to him.” As for Lobov, his fault was simple.

Criticism. A lot of it. Weighing on the McGregor-Nurmagomedov debate in June 2017, the Russian-Irish fighter had said, “Khabib has pulled out six times. He pulls out because of a little pain in his a– or somewhere else. Who is chicken here? Who is afraid? Conor shows up every time no matter what. He’s a true fighter, he’s a true champion. Champion isn’t just belt around your waist, it’s mentality, it’s your heart. Conor is a real champion and Khabib is not even close.”

If we take a closer look at the video, we can see that Khabib Nurmagomedov did attempt to slap Artem Lobov, but Lobov shrugged, and the slap may not have really connected. Regardless, shortly after the incident, Conor McGregor flew in to confront Khabib and settle the score. After the dust settled, ‘Mystic Mac’ turned himself in to the NYPD later that same day. Conor McGregor was eventually charged with three cases of assault and one count of criminal mischief. His punishment? No jail time, 5 days of community service, repayment of the damages and being required to attend anger management classes. But the biggest twist in the story came when all of McGregor’s reaction proved to be in vain.

Conor McGregor’s friendship with Artem Lobov never sustained

Conor McGregor may have fought to defend his friend and save face, but he ultimately failed to maintain a good relationship with Artem Lobov. Why? Let’s go back to the origins. In 2018, McGregor launched ‘Proper No. Twelve’ whiskey, which achieved significant commercial success. In 2021, McGregor and his co-founders sold their majority stake in the brand to Proximo Spirits for a reported $600 million, with McGregor personally earning around $150 million from the deal.

Lobov claimed he helped develop Conor McGregor’s whiskey brand and was promised 5% of the profits—around $30 million—but says he never received any payment. In November 2022, he sued McGregor in the Dublin High Court for his share. McGregor had reportedly offered $1 million before the whiskey took off, which Lobov rejected.

After the fallout, their relationship soured through the years. What’s more, McGregor suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. As of 2025, McGregor and Lobov are involved in ongoing legal disputes, and their so-called friendship is in the rear-view mirror now.