Conor McGregor Denies Assaulting Woman Last Summer During Birthday Celebrations on His Yacht
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Stuart Wilson/BFC/Getty Images Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is denying allegations that he assaulted a woman while they were aboard a yacht last July in Ibiza.
According to Spanish newspaper Ultima Hora, a judge is now taking a second look at a case in which an Irish woman has alleged that the 34-year-old MMA pro punched and threatened to drown her while they were celebrating his birthday on the boat.
The woman initially accused another man of the assault but new details about the alleged incident have prompted the judge to reopen the case.
A spokesperson for the Irish athlete said he denies the charges.
"Mr. McGregor is steadfast in his denial of all the accusations made by a guest on his boat," Karen Kessler told PEOPLE.
According to the newspaper, the unnamed woman told authorities that she met McGregor at an Ibiza club where he recognized her from their Dublin neighborhood. McGregor allegedly invited the woman to the VIP area and then onto his yacht along with his girlfriend and friends.
The woman alleges that the next morning, McGregor punched her in the stomach and chin, and threatened to drown her. She said she jumped into the water to escape him, after which a Red Cross boat rescued her, Ultima Hora reported.
RELATED: Conor McGregor Arrested in Dublin for Alleged Dangerous Driving Violations
According to the outlet, the woman didn't accuse the athlete at first because she was in shock and wanted to return to her hotel quickly, and that she was only wearing a bikini and had neither money nor a phone with her.
McGregor has faced previous assault allegations. In early 2021, McGregor was sued by a woman claiming she had been assaulted by him at a Dublin Hotel in 2018.
Later that year, McGregor nearly got into a brawl with Machine Gun Kelly on the red carpet at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
Jeff Kravitz/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Conor McGregor
The pro fighter appeared to yell at the singer as he walked the red carpet with girlfriend Megan Fox, and McGregor had to be restrained by security guards, according to photos and video that captured the incident.
A source told PEOPLE at the time that McGregor, who is on hand as a presenter, asked to take a photo with Kelly, 32, but that his request was denied by the star's team.
"Conor went in on it a little bit," the source said, noting that the fighter dropped his cane, then retrieved it and began swinging it in Kelly's direction.
A rep for Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time, and a rep for McGregor denied he asked for a photo.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In 2019, McGregor pleaded guilty to assaulting a man at The Marble Arch Pub and was fined €1,000, according to The Irish Independent. During his hearing, the court revealed that McGregor had 18 prior convictions, many of them for traffic offenses.
In April 2018, McGregor was arrested in New York City for attacking a UFC bus and injuring fighter Michael Chiesa, who suffered multiple cuts to his face. McGregor was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief; charges which were later dropped.
