Corsican police free UFC star McGregor after indecent exposure complaint

AJACCIO, France: Irish mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor taken into police custody in Corsica on suspicion of attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure, was released on Saturday (Sep 12) without being charged, his lawyer said.

McGregor was freed before the limit of police custody and faces no charges, his legal representative on the French island Emmanuelle Ramon told AFP, calling the complaint against his client as "abusive".

A spokesman for McGregor sent a statement from the United States saying he "vigorously denied any accusation of bad behaviour."

McGregor was taken into custody on Thursday. Earlier on Saturday, the prosecutor's office in Bastia issued a statement saying they had received a complaint "denouncing acts that could be described as attempted sexual assault and sexual exhibition."

The statement gave no details of the alleged offences committed by the 32-year-old McGregor.

McGregor, an icon of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), who goes by the nickname 'Notorious', is no stranger to controversy.

He hit the headlines in 2019 for an attack on an older man in a Dublin bar captured in a viral video.

In 2018 he pled guilty in Brooklyn, New York to disorderly conduct after attacking a bus filled with UFC fighters.

McGregor held the UFC title for featherweights from 2015 to 2016 and lightweights from 2016 to 2018 and lost to American legend Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 in a lucrative boxing match.

In June, he announced his retirement for the third time, after twice returning to the octagon.