It’s been a whirlwind week for UFC star Conor McGregor. He abruptly announced his retirement from the UFC and now it’s being reported that he is now under investigation in his native Ireland for a sexual assault allegation, according to a New York Times report. The former featherweight and lightweight champion first made headlines on Tuesday when he abruptly took to Twitter to announce his retirement from the octagon of mixed martial arts.
Up to this point, McGregor who has not yet been officially charged with a crime. He was first accused by a woman of sexual assault in December at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin. According to the report, McGregor often frequents the establishment and his last visit correlates with the time frame of the allegations.
Following the release of the New York Times report on Tuesday, a spokesperson for McGregor released a statement to Ariel Helwani of ESPN questioning the timing of why the news of the investigation had appeared at this current time.
Statement from a spokesperson for Conor McGregor following today’s NY Times report: pic.twitter.com/aM10DAUK7I
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 26, 2019
The Irish media outlets first began reporting on the case in late 2018, they were unable to name McGregor as the potential suspect due to laws in the country which prohibit identifying individuals charged with rape unless they are convicted. Any news outlet falsely reporting the names of the accused individual often face libel and breach of policy lawsuits.
McGregor was initially arrested on Jan. 17, sources told the New York Times and questioned by law enforcement before being released without charge pending further investigation. A spokesman for Ireland’s police service, however, would not confirm whether McGregor was the suspect in question.
