Conor McGregor sexual assault allegations won’t stop ESPN, UFC from broadcasting ‘TUF 31’

ESPN and the UFC have opted to continue airing Season 31 of UFC’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ (TUF) television series, featuring Conor McGregor, although MMA’s biggest star has come under fire. sexual assault allegations earlier this month.

Earlier this year, it was announced that McGregor, 34, would be returning as a coach for the show’s second time, this time against former Bellator champion Michael Chandler. “TUF 31” began airing on ESPN+ in May and will continue to air in the United States until August 15.

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for ESPN and the UFC for comment.

The Endeavor-owned UFC previously released a statement in which bosses said they would “continue to gather additional details regarding the incident” involving McGregor, following June 9, and “will allow the process to take place before making additional statements”. .’

It was only last week that an unidentified woman claimed that McGregor, who was recently seen out for a walk in Central Park, New York, ‘violently’ raped her during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. at the Kaseya Center in Miami.

McGregor was charged with sexually assaulting a woman during Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Kaseya Center in Miami.

McGregor is a former featherweight and lightweight champion. He is the first UFC fighter to hold championships in two weight classes

The alleged incident happened in the arena’s men’s washroom. Also that night, McGregor made a promotional appearance at halftime, unexpectedly knocking out the Heat’s mascot.

On behalf of his client, the alleged victim’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, claims that McGregor forced the woman to perform oral sex on him and even attempted to sodomize her while they were both alone in a bathroom stall .

Footage from that night shows McGregor ordering security to close the men’s restroom and improvise some sort of path before taking the woman, whom he had only met earlier that evening, by the hand and walk to the toilet.

Dressed in an all-red outfit, McGregor was also seen on video with the woman at a club table moments after saying the sexual assault happened.

In a demand letter to McGregor, the Heat and the NBA, Mitchell says his client only wants to settle with all three parties instead of potentially having to take legal action.

McGregor has been in a relationship with his fiancée, Dee Devlin since 2008. Pictured in New York

The couple were seen walking their three children through Central Park on Monday

CENTRAL PARK PARADISE: McGregor and Devlin all looked loved up despite latest claims about MMA fighter

McGregor, through his own legal team, has denied the latest sex allegations that have surfaced during his 15-year fighting career. His attorney Barbara R. Llanes described the claims as “nothing more than a shakedown” in a statement.

The Irishman has faced sexual assault allegations before – twice in 2019 in his homeland, once in 2020 in Corsica, France, and again in 2021, when he was embroiled in a trial for an alleged 2018 incident.

Additionally, McGregor was also accused of assaulting a woman on a yacht in Ibiza, Spain. He has yet to face any kind of legal sanction for any of these cases.

McGregor has been in a relationship with his fiancée, Dee Devlin, since 2008. They have three children together.

Once ranked as the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2021, McGregor’s return to ‘TUF’ hasn’t proven to be as much of a boost in television networks’ ratings as they would have. think. The first episode of the new season (31) averaged 294,000 viewers, according to Nielsen, ranking No. 11 overall on cable.

In contrast, McGregor’s first season as a fight trainer on “TUF 22” drew an average viewership of 622,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 in 2015.