White defends decision to book McGregor during sexual assault investigations

UFC president Dana White doesn't see a problem with scheduling Conor McGregor to fight despite the multiple sexual assault allegations against the Irishman.

"He hasn't been charged with anything," White told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole. "You can't accuse somebody and stop them from making a living when they haven't even been charged of anything."

McGregor, a former two-division champion, is booked to return to the cage against Donald Cerrone in the UFC 246 main event Jan. 18, 2020, in Las Vegas.

In March, The New York Times reported that McGregor was under investigation over a sexual assault allegation. The outlet then reported in October that the 31-year-old was under investigation in relation to a second sexual assault allegation.

McGregor has not been arrested or charged in light of the accusations.

"If he was being charged with something right now, it would be a different story," White said. "The New York Times wrote those stories, but there's no other stories out there about Conor McGregor."

McGregor's had numerous run-ins with the law recently. "The Notorious" attacked a bus that held several UFC fighters ahead of a Brooklyn event in April 2018. He pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct three months later and was handed five days of community service.

In March, McGregor was charged following an incident in which he allegedly slapped a phone out of a person's hand and stomped on it outside a Miami Beach hotel. Prosecutors dropped charges against the UFC superstar in May.

Most recently, McGregor pleaded guilty to assault in November after punching a man at a Dublin bar in April. He was fined 1,000 euros.

"Conor McGregor has made a lot of bad decisions in the last several years. And he has paid for it," White said.

McGregor has not competed since an October 2018 loss to lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.