Artem Lobov has to pay Conor McGregor's massive legal bills after losing "draconian" defamation suit

There is a new twist in the Conor McGregor and Artem Lobov saga. It seems the Russian will have to pick up McGregor's legal tab after his lawsuit to get his former training partner to take down some allegedly defamatory social media posts was thrown out.

Lobov and McGregor have been involved in a legal dispute since November of last year. This came after the retired MMA fighter took legal action against the Irishman for cutting him out of the 'Proper-Twelve' whisky sales deal, which the Russian also claims to be his brainchild.

Over the duration of the legal process, Conor McGregor missed no opportunity to take shots at his former training partner and it seems 'The Russian Hammer' took particular offense to one of McGregor's now-deleted tweets where the Irish superstar called him a 'rat,' which led Lobov to file another defamation suit.

Check out the tweet below:

However, Artem Lobov recently had the screws put on him after Mr. Justice Garrett Simons refused to provide an injunction against Conor McGregor, citing that the posts were not clearly defamatory. The judge further described the order sought by 'The Russian Hammer' to be 'draconian' in nature and went against the principle of freedom of expression.

Read more about the reports here.

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Dustin Poirier predicts the outcome of potential Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler bout

Conor McGregor has spent a sizeable amount of time on the sidelines due to a nasty leg fracture he suffered in his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021.

Following an arduous journey of rehabilitation and recovery, it is expected that 'The Notorious' will make his long-awaited return to the UFC octagon this year.

While there has been no official confirmation from the organization about who will face McGregor on his return, Michael Chandler is highly rumored to be the frontrunner.

The No.5-ranked lightweight has lost no opportunity to call out the Irishman and fans are excited to witness the two explosive strikers go at each other.

However, their mutual rival Dustin Poirier recently weighed in on the potential lightweight contest and shared his prediction for the fight. 'The Diamond' sided with Conor McGregor and stated:

"I would favor Conor. I think Chandler's very hittable, Conor's timing, you know... I would pick Conor still in this one... Conor's longer than him, Chandler slows down, he does wrestle heavy to avoid the striking with Conor, he's going to slow down a little bit... I would put money on Conor if the fight happens."

Watch Poirier's full interview with Eddie Mercado below:

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