An Irish woman has claimed Conor McGregor attacked her on his yacht during a party in Spain, forcing her to jump into the water to escape, local reports have said.
The woman, who has not been named, is understood to have claimed the UFC star kicked her in the stomach, punched her in the face and left her bruised during celebrations in Ibiza for his 34th birthday in July, describing him as ‘possessed’.
Officials have confirmed an investigation has been opened into McGregor by a court in Ibiza for an alleged assault. Asked whether McGregor was under investigation, a spokesman for the investigating magistrate said: ‘I can confirm a court in Ibiza is investigating an Irish national for an alleged crime of wounding.’
Karen Kessler, a spokesperson for McGregor, told MailOnline: ‘Mr. McGregor is steadfast in his denial of all the accusations made by a guest on his boat.’
An Irish woman has claimed a ‘possessed’ Conor McGregor attacked her on his yacht during a party in Spain in July last year, forcing her to jump into the water to escape, local reports have said. Pictured: McGregor is seen on his yacht in Ibiza in July 2022
The local newspaper Periodico de Ibiza wrote: ‘According to her complaint, the mixed martial arts star became violent by surprise.
‘After beginning to criticise the victim, the trigger for the attack was according to her that she tried to get a friend who was on board the yacht to help her.’
Appearing to quote apparent extracts from the complaint, the paper said: ‘His behaviour changed at that moment and he became very aggressive.
‘It was as if he was possessed,’ Periodico de Ibiza reported she claimed in her statement. ‘I knew I had to leave the boat because I thought he was going to kill me.
‘We have common friends and I have met him on a number on occasions. I can’t believe what he did to me. I think he would have killed me if I hadn’t left the yacht.’
Periodico de Ibiza also claimed that in her statement to the Gardai a few days after she returned to Ireland at the end of July last year, she attributed her initial unwillingness to press charges in Spain to a state of shock when she was helped ashore by rescuers after she apparently jumped into the sea to escape.
It said she had complained she was wearing just her bikini when she went into the water. She said she had no money or phone and just wanted to get back to her hotel as soon as possible, the newspaper added.
It reported that she claimed in her Irish police statement: ‘They left me stranded. They wouldn’t even abandon a dog the way they did me.’
The unnamed woman is understood to have passed over the telephone numbers of possible witnesses of the alleged morning incident.
The UFC fighter has not yet been charged with any crime, as is custom in Spain where charges are only laid shortly before trial after lengthy investigations which always take place behind closed doors.
He may also be summoned after an investigating judge took a statement from the complainant and possible witnesses, Ibiza media reported.
Irish Press revealed last August the woman walked into a Garda station in the Dublin suburb of Crumlin to claim she was assaulted during a party on McGregor’s triple-deck super yacht last July when he held the birthday celebration.
She was described at the time as being in her twenties, although island paper Periodico de Ibiza described the complainant in a report overnight as 42.
The respected local newspaper said she had made the claims to the Gardai but did not make it clear how they were aware of her exact allegations and whether it had been given access to them via sources on the Spanish island.
The court in Ibiza which is probing the alleged incident on board McGregor’s yacht has not commented on the detail contained in the reports.
If McGregor ends up being summoned for questioning in Ibiza, he will be quizzed in a private hearing by the investigating judge, although investigators would also have the option of questioning him by video link if they decide they need to speak to him as the probe progresses.
Other Spanish media, including national news websites, have echoed the detailed assault claims first outlined by press in Ibiza overnight.
The woman, who has not been named, is understood to have claimed the UFC star (pictured seen leaving Blanchardstown District Court in Dublin, where he was charged with driving offences, in November 2022) kicked her in the stomach, punched her in the face and left her bruised during celebrations in Ibiza for his 34th birthday in July
At the time of the alleged incident, Spanish police claimed there had been a language misunderstanding, saying one of the first people to go to her aid after she was brought ashore had heard her say she’d come from McGregor’s yacht and wrongly thought she was alleging she’d been assaulted.
The Civil Guard also insisted after the initial reports in the Spanish press last summer that no active investigation was under way because she told them she had fallen from the yacht into the water off the island of Formentera near Ibiza and did not want to press any charges.
The case had been provisionally shelved last summer because the woman had not presented a formal written complaint to police in Formentera. But it was now being reopened in light of her statement to Garda, the Periodico de Ibiza reported.
Former UFC champion McGregor was joined for his birthday last July by a group of friends. He treated guests to cocktails made using his Proper 12 whiskey, while a huge cake with his name on it was also displayed.
His two yachts hosted the celebrations – a 3.5million euro Lamborghini Tecnomar 63 which he has claimed in the past he uses to ‘rally on’, and a triple-deck 150-ft Prestige 750 which boasts an inflatable water slide and a climbing wall which he says he uses to ‘live life on’.
The woman who has reportedly sparked the investigation has been described in Ibiza media reports as someone who knew McGregor before he was famous because they grew up in the same neighbourhood.
She is understood to have received an invitation to a party on McGregor’s yacht after meeting him at a beach club earlier the same night where she had gone with a Hungarian couple.
According to the latest reports, the unnamed couple may also now be questioned about the alleged July 17 incident.
Irish media revealed last August the woman walked into a Garda station in the Dublin suburb of Crumlin to claim she was assaulted during a party on McGregor’s triple-deck super yacht last July when he held a celebration for his 34th birthday. Pictured: McGregor is seen in a yacht with long-time partner Dee Devlin
The former UFC champion has faced a range of other legal claims in recent years, during which he has left and returned to the sport a number of times.
He pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct after he threw a metal dolly at the window of a moving bus carrying other UFC fighters in April 2018.
He was found guilty and sentenced to five days of community service, and was ordered to take between one and three anger management classes.
In March 2019, he was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida, and was accused of breaking a man’s phone. The case was dropped, as was another lawsuit after McGregor reached an out-of-court settlement with the man.
McGregror also pleaded guilty to assault in November 2019 for punching a man in a Dublin pub, and was fined £890.
At the time, the court heard the fighter had 18 previous convictions, the majority of which were related to road traffic offences.
Last September, McGregor was arrested after an alleged sexual assault and indecent exposure in a bar on the island of Corsica. He has denied all wrongdoing in the case, and was released from custody without charge.
The former UFC champion has faced a range of other legal claims in recent years, during which he has left and returned to the sport a number of times. Pictured: McGregor celebrates after defeating Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout during UFC246 at T-Mobile Arena on January 18, 2020 in Las Vegas
After a period out of the sport, McGregor returned to fighting in the UFC, only to lose to bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
He then took a 15-month hiatus, before returning to the ring again 12 months ago to fight Donald Cerrone, who he beat inside just 40 seconds.
In January 2021, he faced UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Dustin Poirier in a rematch of their 2014 fight. McGregor lost via technical knockout in the second round – the first knockout loss of his career.
He was also handed a six-month medical suspension from the sport before he fought Poirier for a third time in July, losing the fight again by technical knockout.
In November 2021, McGregor lost the latest round of his legal fight with a clothing firm over sportswear bearing his name in a brand row that could cost him millions.
He applied to register his name as a trademark to sell clothing across Europe.
However, the move was opposed by the McGregor fashion label, which was founded by Scottish businessman David Doniger more than 100 years ago and is now owned by a Dutch company.
