Even with the cloud of yet another sexual assault allegation hanging over Conor McGregor, the UFC and ESPN remain committed to shining a spotlight on MMA’s biggest star as Season 31 of “The Ultimate Fighter” will proceed with its fourth episode Tuesday night.
McGregor, 34, currently is featured as a coach opposite lightweight contender and former Bellator champion Michael Chandler on “TUF 31,” which has aired weekly on ESPN since May 30 and is set to continue until Aug. 15.
Two ESPN spokespersons declined an MMA Junkie request for comment when asked if the network has considered canceling “TUF 31” or making changes to the show’s presentation considering the sexual assault allegation against McGregor. A UFC spokesperson didn’t respond to MMA Junkie when asked if the promotion would reconsider the continuation of “TUF 31” given the optics of the situation.
The UFC said in a previous statement that it would “continue to gather additional details regarding the incident” and “allow the legal process to play out before making any additional statements.”
Last week, a woman accused McGregor of “violently” raping her while attending NBA Finals Game 4 on June 10 in Miami. The alleged sexual assault occurred inside a men’s bathroom at Kaseya Center, where McGregor made a promotional appearance in which he knocked out the Miami Heat mascot during the game.
According to the alleged victim’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, McGregor forced the woman to perform oral sex on him and attempted to sodomize her while they were alone in a bathroom stall. Cell phone video from that night shows McGregor directing security to block off the bathroom and create a pathway before he takes the woman, whom he’d met earlier in the night, by the hand and leads her inside. There also is video of McGregor and his accuser together at an arena club after the alleged sexual assault.
In a demand letter sent to McGregor, the Heat and the NBA, Mitchell wrote that her client is only seeking settlements from all three parties in lieu of pursuing litigation. McGregor has vehemently denied the allegation, with attorney Barbara R. Llanes calling it “no more than a shakedown.”
McGregor’s return hasn’t provided the ratings boon that the UFC and ESPN likely were hoping for. The premiere episode averaged 294,000 viewers, according to Nielsen, finishing No. 11 overall on cable and earning a .14 share among the coveted 18-to-49 year old demographic. By comparison, “TUF 22” with McGregor as coach debuted with 622,000 average viewers on FS1 in 2015.
McGregor has been accused of sexual assault multiple times before – twice in 2019 in March and October of that year in Ireland; September 2020 in Corsica, which later was dropped; and in 2021 he faced a lawsuit for an alleged 2018 incident. Earlier this year in January, McGregor was accused of attacking a woman on a yacht in Ibiza. He’s not faced legal punishment in any of those cases.
Conor McGregor sexual assault allegation doesn’t deter ESPN, UFC from continuing ‘TUF 31’