Ajaccio (AFP)

Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Conor McGregor, nicknamed "The Notorious", spent almost two days in police custody in Corsica before being released without prosecution on suspicion of showing off and sexual assault which he "vigorously" denies.

"Following a complaint filed on September 10 denouncing facts which could be qualified as attempted sexual assault and sexual exhibition", McGregor "was the subject of a hearing by the police, under police custody, "the Bastia prosecutor's office said on Saturday in a statement sent to AFP.

The star was released "before the legal end of police custody and without any judicial review", according to her lawyer in Corsica, Me Emmanuelle Ramon, who described the complaint as "abusive".

The spokesman for the 32-year-old athlete added in a statement from the United States that Conor McGregor "vigorously denies any accusation of bad behavior".

He was in Corsica where he was to take part on Saturday in a sporting challenge organized by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation to join the principality from Calvi by water bike.

The Irishman has long been the figurehead of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the main organizer of MMA fights in the United States.

He held the UFC featherweight title from 2015 to 2016 and the lightweight from 2016 to 2018.

- Retired since June -

He is even one of the most popular and highest paid fighters in the history of the sport which combines several martial arts and allows kicks, punches, knees and elbows, as well as ground kicks, chokes and wrenches. interior of a closed enclosure, the octagon.

But it was by participating in a controversial boxing fight against American legend Floyd Mayweather, in August 2017 in Las Vegas, that he rose to world notoriety, despite his defeat.

Conor McGregor has had legal trouble before.

He was notably implicated in two assaults in the United States.

And he is the subject of two sexual assault investigations in Ireland, according to the New York Times.

In June, he announced his retirement from sports for the third time.

"Sport bores me a bit. I'm not excited (by fighting). I don't know if it's because of the lack of an audience. I don't know what it is. But I does not find enthusiasm, "he explained.

McGregor had first decided to withdraw from MMA in April 2016, before reversing his decision after negotiating a new contract significantly revalued.

He hung up a second time in March 2019 after suffering a loss in October 2018 to Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov, for the UFC lightweight title, in a fight that ended in a general fight.

After his victory, the Russian had fought with relatives of the Irishman, himself attacked by a member of Nurmagomedov's entourage.

The two stars of MMA had received a suspension after the fact.

In October 2019, McGregor announced that he wanted to resume MMA and made his return to the octagon in January in Las Vegas, winning in just 40 seconds against American Donald Cerrone.

© 2020 AFP