Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor has been ordered to pay over $250,000 in damages after a woman won a civil court case filed against him, accusing him of sexual assault.
Content warning: This story discusses sexual assault
A woman who sued Conor McGregor for sexual assault can put the legal battle behind her.
A High Court of Dublin jury ruled in favor of Nikita Hand, a woman who said the mixed martial artist had “brutally raped and battered” her during a 2018 encounter in a Nov. 22 decision.
After the decision was made, Hand told reporters outside the courtroom, per the BBC, that the jury’s decision in the civil case was, “a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up you have a voice.”
Per the Associated Press, McGregor testified that he had “never forced” Hand to “do anything against her will,” and during the 2018 situation in question—which took place in the penthouse of a Dublin hotel—he and Hand had “consensual sex.”
In a statement to TMZ after the Nov. 22 verdict, the UFC fighter said, “The judge’s instruction and the modest award given was for assault, there was not an award for aggravated or exemplary damages.”
He noted, “I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed.” (In 2020, the DPP, or the Director of Public Prosecutions in Dublin told Hand that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute her allegation as a criminal case.)
“I am with my family,” he continued, “focused on my future.”
E! News has reached out to McGregor’s legal team regarding the decision but has not yet heard back.
The civil court case had begun earlier this month, per CBS News, during which Hand had given an emotional testimony detailing the alleged assault.
David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty ImagesHand had shared that McGregor had put her in a chokehold “several times” during their 2018 meeting, and he had told her amid her struggles, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to a loss he had experienced during the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The hair colorist—who is mom to a daughter—explained that she feared for her life as McGregor had intercourse with her.
“He let me go and I remember saying I was sorry,” Hand detailed in her testimony, per the Associated Press. “I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again.”
For his part, McGregor—who was supported by partner Dee Devlin, with whom he has been with since 2008, amid the court battle—said in his own testimony that Hand’s statement was “a lie” and described the intercourse as “athletic” and “vigorous,” but not rough, adding, “She never said ‘no,’ or stopped.”
This is not the first time McGregor has faced legal trouble pertaining to allegations of sexual assault. In 2023, a woman accused the MMA fighter of assaulting her in the bathroom of a Miami Heat game during the NBA Finals. The State Attorney’s Office of Miami later shared that no criminal charges would be filed pertaining to the allegation, citing insufficient evidence.
