UPDATED 6/16/23, 9:50 a.m. ET: Video recorded at the Kaseya Center in Miami appears to show Conor McGregor leading the woman who accused him of rape into a men's bathroom where she said the alleged assault took place.
Per TMZ, the video shows the UFC star speaking with a woman before grabbing her by the hand and leading her inside the bathroom. She appeared to be accompanied by a friend, who was seemingly cut off from joining them by security, who surrounded McGregor and the woman. The door to the bathroom then shuts after he took a look behind him.
As explained by the woman's attorney Ariel Mitchell, the woman joined McGregor earlier in the evening and even took a selfie video before the alleged incident. At one point he said he needed to use the restroom. She was later approached by a man who told her that McGregor told them "to come get you." Mitchell said her client "was under the belief they were leaving and going to the Four Seasons Hotel, as Conor had previously asked her to join him at his hotel room." When she was being led by McGregor, she thought they were leaving the venue.
"After the video was released by TMZ, the claimant’s lawyer now has changed her story," said McGregor's attorney Barbara R. Llanes. "Mr. McGregor welcomes the investigation, which he firmly believes will show the claims against him are false. After not responding to the demand for money made by claimant’s counsel, she turned to the media to apply pressure. This is no more than a shakedown."
A police investigation into the alleged assault is ongoing.
See original story below.
UFC fighter Conor McGregor has been accused of raping a woman following the Denver Nuggets' victory over the Miami Heat at the NBA Finals last week.
As reported by TMZ, the woman filed demand letters through attorney Ariel Mitchell accusing McGregor of sexually assaulting her after the Nuggets won Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The woman alleged that McGregor "violently" assaulted her inside a men's bathroom at the venue. Mitchell said the security teams representing the NBA and the Miami Heat separated the woman from her friend to get her into the bathroom, where McGregor and his security were.
"Security refused to let [the woman] exit or allow anyone else, including her friend, inside the bathroom," read the letters. McGregor allegedly exited one of the stalls when she was forced into the bathroom, at which point he "shoved his tongue in the victim's mouth and aggressively kissed her." Mitchell said McGregor briefly stopped assaulting the woman after she said she needed to use the bathroom, but he then allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. She also accused him of pinning her against the wall, from which she was able to escape after elbowing him several times. She added that she left her purse at the scene. It was "held hostage" by security until she repeatedly asked them to return it to her.
Representatives for McGregor said the "allegations are false" and he "will not be intimidated" by the demand letters, in which she is seeking settlements with the NBA, the Miami Heat, and McGregor in favor of litigation. The woman reported the incident to authorities on Sunday, June 11.
McGregor was present at Game 4 of the NBA Finals, where he participated in a sketch that sent Miami Heat mascot Burnie to the emergency room.
