Content warning: This article includes mentions and descriptions of sexual assault.
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has been found liable for sexual assault, with a jury in Dublin, Ireland ruling that he committed a violent act of rape against a woman during a penthouse meeting in 2018.
The verdict came following two weeks of trial, where plaintiff Nikita Hand recounted suffering severe bruising and long-term struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being sexually violated by McGregor, per The Guardian.
Hand, who was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol when she came into contact with the MMA fighter in late 2018, described heading to Beacon Hotel with a friend of hers, McGregor, and co-defendant James Lawrence, whom the court found not liable for sexual assault. Hand said McGregor choked her and forced her to have sex with him while in the hotel, leaving her scratched and bruised.
Numerous experts spoke to the physical and mental damages Hand endured following her encounter with McGregor, which has caused her to be deemed “unfit for work” since 2019. Hand was seen with numerous marks on her body the day after her meeting with McGregor, and had to get a tampon removed from her by a doctor.
McGregor, who denied the claims brought forward in the trial, argued that he had consensual sex with Hand when they met in December 2018. He railed against any ownership for the damage that Hand suffered, suggesting that she might have instead obtained the injuries by diving into a bathtub.
In the trial, McGregor’s legal team attempted to paint Hand as an unreliable source by pointing out slight inconsistencies in her story. They focused on texts between Hand and her boyfriend at the time, tried to compare parts of Hand’s statements to CCTV footage from the night of her encounter with McGregor, and questioned her inability to remember certain details. However, none of it was more convincing to the jury than the significant damage that Hand suffered, which was backed up by a litany of professionals.
Hand is expected to receive nearly 250,000 Euro in damages.
“I want to show [my daughter] and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served,” Hand said outside a Dublin courtroom following the verdict on Friday. “To all the victims of sexual assault, I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up, you have a voice, and keep on fighting for justice.”
The road to a favorable verdict was a long and painful one for Hand. The former hairdresser initially pursued a civil case against McGregor in 2021 after Irish prosecutors decided against going forward with a criminal case.
In a detail which just became public following the trial, Hand suffered a traumatizing breaking-and-entering in June of this year. RTE reported that Hand’s house was invaded by a group of men wearing balaclavas a few months back, breaking into a window of her residence in the process. Her partner, who had “driven out” the group, suffered stab wounds. Hand’s legal counsel said they weren’t “saying they [the defendants] had anything to do with that,” but also argued that it wasn’t an untargeted attack. The judge decided the incident was “completely irrelevant” to the trial.
In a now-deleted social media post, McGregor said he plans to appeal the trial’s result.
“I will be appealing today’s decision,” McGregor said. “The judge’s instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages. I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed. I am with my family now, focused on my future…”
Editor’s Note: Previous reports featured on Knockdown News did not refer to Nikita Hand by name, as it hadn’t been previously indicated that she wanted to be publicly linked to the case. However, after coming forward with her own statement on Friday, she will now be named. Full disclosure: Knockdown News does not report the names of sexual assault victims unless they have clearly opted to be publically identified.
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