Despite being accused of two separate allegations of sexual assault, Conor McGregor’s MMA career is moving onward, and there are some who are wondering why.
This question was put forth to UFC President Dana White himself, who was unaware that Conor McGregor’s booking to face Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 was receiving backlash at all (Transcript via MMA Junkie):
“I didn’t even know (about the criticism),” White told Yahoo Sports. “He hasn’t been charged with anything. You can’t accuse somebody and stop them from making a living when they haven’t even been charged of anything.”
Both investigations (one in March, the other in October) were reported by The New York Times. And as far as Dana White knows, that is where the story begins and ends until he hears otherwise.
“Listen, if he was being charged with something right now. It would be a different story. The New York Times have wrote those stories, but there are no other stories out there about Conor McGregor.”
No other stories, that is, beside smashing the cell phone of a civilian and cold-cocking a middle-aged man in an Irish pub. White acknowledges that McGregor is no angel and has had his run-ins with the law, but that as of yet, the sexual assault allegations are uncorroborated and unsubstantiated.
“Conor McGregor has made a lot of bad decisions in the past several years. He has paid for it. He walked into court and plead guilty to punching that guy in the face in Ireland. He paid for the slapping of the phone out of the thing. He attacked the bus and paid for that.”
“He’s obviously done some things,” White said. “He’s been charged and paid and done everything he’s supposed to do. These other things, first of all I don’t even know. Has it said that he’s the guy that’s being accused?”
Conor McGregor will be headlining UFC 246 against Donald Cerrone January 18 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Do you agree with Dana White’s decision to book Conor McGregor in spite of the sexual assault investigations against McGregor?
