UFC star Conor McGregor facing multimillion-dollar lawsuit

UFC superstar and former two-division champion Conor McGregor is making his much-anticipated return to the octagon Saturday to battle Dustin Poirier in the main event of the UFC 257 pay-per-view. 

McGregor is also facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. 

Shane Phelan of the Irish Independent reported on Tuesday that a woman who has known McGregor for years is suing the 32-year-old mixed martial artist and an associate of McGregor regarding an incident that allegedly occurred in 2018. The woman's mother also lodged a smaller personal injury action against McGregor and the associate. 

The nature of the allegations could not be disclosed by the Irish Independent due to legal reasons.

As ESPN's Marc Raimondi wrote, McGregor denies any wrongdoing, and the matter was investigated by the national police service of the Republic of Ireland. No official charges were brought against McGregor. 

McGregor’s spokesperson Karen J. Kessler responded to the filings: 

"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.

"The plaintiff knows the facts contradict the assertions in this lawsuit. Mr. McGregor will dispute any claims and is confident that justice will prevail."

As noted by MMA Junkie, McGregor has thrice faced sexual assault allegations but was never charged in any of those cases. He was arrested for throwing a dolly at a UFC bus after a media day in 2018 and also fined in 2019 for punching a man in the face in a south Dublin pub.

McGregor hasn't competed since he stopped Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in the headliner of the UFC 246 event in January 2020.