Earlier today, just hours after the former UFC champion announced his retirement from MMA via Twitter, the New York Times reported that Conor McGregor is under investigation in Ireland for alleged sexual assault.
The NYT reports that McGregor was arrested in January and then released pending further investigation. The woman who reported the allegation said that it occurred in December at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin; McGregor occasionally stays in the hotel’s only penthouse, according to a source who spoke with the NYT. McGregor’s most recent visit to the hotel was in December.
The case was reported earlier this year by the Irish media, but Ireland’s strict publication laws prohibited McGregor from being named, as he has not been convicted of sexual assault in this case. Local reports about the alleged incident report a “famous sportsman” or “unnamed sportsman” being at the center of the allegations.
McGregor’s publicist denied that the fighter’s retirement announcement was related to the investigation. “This story has been circulating for some time, and it is unclear why it is being reported now,’’ the publicist said in a statement. “The assumption that the Conor retirement announcement today is related to this rumor is absolutely false.”
The report of the alleged assault comes just weeks after McGregor was arrested for allegedly stealing and destroying a fan’s phone during a confrontation outside a Miami Beach hotel.
