A woman has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against UFC superstar Conor McGregor for alleged personal injury, her lawyer confirmed Tuesday with ESPN.
Dave Coleman, the attorney for the woman, said the suit, over events that allegedly took place in 2018, was filed Monday in the High Court in Dublin, Ireland. In addition, the woman's mother has also filed suit against McGregor, Coleman said, in a smaller claim. Per the Independent, which first reported the suit, an associate of McGregor's is listed as the co-defendant.
"The matter is before the court," Coleman said.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that McGregor was being sued by a woman who says he raped her in 2018. The Times reported that the lawsuit was filed after police and prosecutors declined to press criminal charges.
The Times reported that it had obtained the statement of claim filed by the woman. In it, she says that the assault occurred on Dec. 9, 2018, in a hotel penthouse. She says that McGregor raped her and that she was examined at a hospital and was found to have bruising on most of her body and abrasions on her face, neck and right breast, according to the Times' report.
She reported the assault to police a month later, the lawsuit said. The suit asks for between $1.79 million and $2.13 million, the Times reported. A civil trial would be held with a jury in Ireland.
This situation was the subject of an investigation by An Garda Síochána, the national police service of the Republic of Ireland. McGregor has denied any wrongdoing, the Independent reported.
"After an exhaustive investigation conducted by the Gardaí which, in addition to interviews of the plaintiff, included interviewing numerous sources, obtaining witnesses' statements, examining closed circuit footage and the cooperation of Conor McGregor, these allegations were categorically rejected," McGregor spokesperson Karen Kessler said in a statement. "The plaintiff knows the facts contradict the assertions in this lawsuit. Mr. McGregor will dispute any claims and is confident that justice will prevail."
McGregor, one of the most popular athletes in the world, returns to the Octagon in a main event fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. It will be McGregor's first bout since UFC 246 in January 2020. When asked, Coleman said there was "no specific reason" for the timing of the lawsuit being filed.
The New York Times reported in 2019 that McGregor was the subject of two sexual assault investigations, though charges have not been brought and it's unclear whether those investigations are still open.
McGregor has had multiple run-ins with the law over the years. He was arrested in Brooklyn after throwing a dolly at a UFC bus after a media day in 2018, and he was fined 1,000 euros in Dublin court in 2019 for punching a man in the face at a pub, an assault that was caught on video.
ESPN's Ariel Helwani contributed to this report.