Evidence “Not Sufficient” in Alleged Attempted Sexual Assault Claim Against McGregor

Conor McGregor, UFC 257
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 22: Conor McGregor of Ireland poses on the scale during the UFC 257 weigh-in at Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 22, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC superstar Conor McGregor, set to return to action at UFC 264 later this year, will not be facing charges following an allegation of attempted sexual assault last September.

McGregor, the former featherweight and lightweight double champ, was detained in Corsica last year, following a complaint filed with local authorities on September 10. In a statement to the AFP (Agence France-Presse) at the time, a French official confirmed that McGregor had been taken into custody. “Following a complaint filed on September 10 denouncing acts that could be described as attempted sexual assault and sexual exhibition, Mr. Conor Anthony Mac Gregor (sic) was the subject of a hearing by the gendarmerie services,” the statement read. McGregor was later released.

Months after the initial incident, however, an investigation has concluded that the evidence in the case is insufficient to press charges against the fighter. TMZ was first to report the news. Prosecutors based in the City of Bastia wrote in a letter (via TMZ) dated March 19, 2021 that

The examination of the present proceedings does not justify any criminal prosecution since:

The facts or the circumstances of the facts of the proceedings could not have been clearly established by the investigations.

The pieces of evidence are therefore not sufficient for the offense to be constituted and for criminal prosecution to be engaged.

McGregor is expected to compete in a rubber match with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That fight will settle the pair’s trilogy, which started in 2014 at UFC 178, with McGregor finishing Poirier in a featherweight fight. Poirier got his revenge at UFC 257 earlier this year, stopping McGregor in the second round.

The Irish star is still facing a lawsuit stemming from a separate sexual assault allegation.