Conor McGregor: Timeline of the Former UFC Champion’s Controversies, Arrests and Legal Troubles

Former UFC Champion Conor McGregor has been a face of the sport not only for his achievements inside the ring but because of his legal troubles outside it. This week, the Irish mixed martial artist was accused of attempting to rape an unnamed woman at the Kaseya Center in Miami following Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Through a lawyer, McGregor has denied the claim, calling it “false” and vowing that he will “not be intimidated.”

A detailed account of the claimed sexual assault provided by the woman’s attorney constitutes perhaps the most serious allegation made against McGregor in his career. The incident follows a series of other accusations describing violent and criminal conduct on his part. Here’s a timeline of the arrests (and near-arrests) that have shadowed the 34-year-old’s athletic career.

November 2017-Present: Driving Violations

McGregor’s most consistent run-ins with the police stem from his driving habits. In both 2017 and 2018, he pleaded guilty to speeding offenses and paid fines, in the latter case having his diving privileges revoked for six months. Last year, he was arrested on six traffic charges, including being uninsured and driving without a license, and authorities impounded his sports car. He was later charged with careless driving as well. That case has proceeded slowly through the courts, without a plea as yet, and has been adjourned until December 2023.  

April 2018: Attack on Bus at Barclays Center

In a bizarre and frightening scene, McGregor and an entourage were caught on video pelting a bus with loose objects after a UFC media event, including a hand dolly and a guard rail, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. They shattered the vehicle’s windows and windshield, injuring multiple UFC fighters aboard, who subsequently missed their next fights. The assault was reportedly intended as retaliation against one of the bus’ occupants, UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, who had confronted McGregor’s teammate and close friend Artem Lobov at a hotel earlier that week.  

UFC president Dana White condemned McGregor’s behavior as “disgusting.” By July 2018, McGregor — who had turned himself into the NYPD after the episode — reached a plea deal that saw his assault and felony criminal mischief charges dropped, with no prison sentence or loss of his travel visa. Instead, he paid restitution for damages, served five days of community service and agreed to take a short anger management course. “I just want to say I’m thankful to the D.A. and the judge for allowing me to move forward,” McGregor said at the time.

December 2018-Present: Dublin Sexual Assault Allegations

In early 2019, reports emerged that McGregor was under investigation by Irish law enforcement for an alleged sexual assault of a woman in a Dublin hotel the previous December. In October 2019, police received another complaint against McGregor from a woman who said he had sexually assaulted her in a car outside a Dublin pub. The UFC fighter denied both claims, but was at one point arrested and questioned before being released.

In 2021, prosecutors indicated they would not be charging McGregor in connection with the alleged 2018 assault; neither have they pursued legal action over the 2019 complaint. The woman whose accusations sparked the initial investigation sued McGregor for personal injuries after the criminal case ended without charges, again alleging that he raped her in a Dublin hotel. Those civil proceedings are ongoing, while the plaintiff granted wide discovery of materials the police obtained in working on the case. McGregor continues to deny the accusation.   

March 2019: Robbery Arrest in Florida

In an encounter caught on a security camera, McGregor seized and smashed the phone of a fan who tried to take his picture in Miami Beach. Arrested for criminal mischief and strong-armed robbery, he spent several hours in jail before he was released on a $5,000 bond, pledging full cooperation in any investigation. The fan dropped his civil suit against McGregor a month later, and authorities declined to pursue a criminal case after McGregor and the victim reached an out-of-court settlement.

August 2019: Assault in Dublin Pub

Once again caught lashing out on video, McGregor in August 2019 punched a pub customer who had repeatedly refused a shot of his Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, a liquor brand the mixed martial artist launched the year prior. That November, he pleaded guilty to assault, paying a fine and avoiding a stint of up to six months behind bars. The victim received an undisclosed sum in compensation as well. During court proceedings, it was revealed that McGregor had 18 prior convictions on his criminal record, most connected to his driving offenses. The fighter told the court, “Your honour, what I done was very wrong. I would like to apologize today, to the injured party again, and to apologize here before the court, and assure you nothing of this nature will happen again regarding me.” His lawyers had argued that a conviction would put his career in “jeopardy,” given the need to travel for bouts. 

September 2020: Released After Detained in Corsica on Suspicion of Sexual Assault

McGregor was detained and questioned by authorities on the French island of Corsica in September 2020 for alleged indecent exposure and sexual assault in a bar, spending two days in custody. Eight months later, they declared a lack of sufficient evidence to justify a criminal prosecution. A spokesperson for McGregor said that the investigation included DNA collection that corroborated his version of events.

“Conor Mcgregor vigorously denies any accusations of misconduct,” his representative told TMZ. “He has been interviewed and released.”

October 2021: Alleged Assault of Italian DJ

Francesco Facchinetti, a famed Italian DJ and TV presenter, accused McGregor of punching him in the face and breaking his nose outside a hotel in Rome in October 2021. According to Facchinetti, he and his wife had been partying with McGregor and the fighter’s fiancée Dee Devlin for hours when McGregor attacked him totally unprovoked. McGregor and Devlin had earlier that day taken their third child to be baptized at the Vatican. “He is dangerous, he needs to be stopped,” Faccinetti said at the time, formally pressing charges against McGregor, who as of early 2022 was still under investigation for the complaint. He has not been charged, nor has he commented publicly on the incident.

July 2022: Alleged Assault on Yacht in Ibiza

This past January, reports emerged that a woman in her 40s had accused McGregor of physically assaulting her on his yacht in Ibiza, Spain, during his birthday celebration the previous July. She claimed that he became verbally abusive, then punched and kicked her, even saying he would drown her. She said she suffered an injury to her wrist when she fell from one of McGregor’s blows and was eventually forced to flee the yacht, believing he might have killed her otherwise, and was picked up by a Red Cross boat. McGregor has denied these claims. “Mr. McGregor is steadfast in his denial of all the accusations made by a guest on his boat,” said his spokesperson Karen Kessler in a statement.

While the unnamed woman hadn’t signed a statement for Spanish law enforcement at the time, she filed a complaint with Irish police in September. Authorities in Spain subsequently reopened their investigation, but have not charged McGregor. The woman also sued McGregor but withdrew the claim in February with no reason given.

From Rolling Stone US.