Trigger warning: The following narrative covers the topic of sexual abuse. A woman, Nikita Hand, who previously filed a lawsuit against renowned mixed martial artist Conor McGregor on the grounds of sexual assault, has finally found respite. The civil court case, held in the High Court of Dublin, ended in Hand’s favor, confirming her allegations about a disturbing 2018 episode. After the judgement was delivered on November 22, she gave an official statement, as reported by the BBC, acknowledging the decision as a testament to the importance of voicing out against any form of assault regardless of your fears.
McGregor had defended himself during the trial saying he never coerced Hand into doing anything against her will. He claimed their involvement, which took place in a Dublin hotel penthouse in 2018, was a consensual act. Commenting on the verdict, McGregor expressed his dissatisfaction with the jury’s decision, stating that the minor award was only received for assault, and there was no significant remuneration for intensified or exceptional damages.
McGregor expressed his dismay over the fact that the jury wasn’t presented with all the evidence that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Dublin had examined. He stressed this point since, in 2020, the DPP informed Hand that the evidence supporting her accusations wasn’t sufficient to initiate a criminal case against him. Following the verdict, McGregor maintained that he was concentrating on his family and future.
The civil trial proceedings had commenced earlier that month with Hand providing a harrowing account of the alleged attack. She testified that McGregor used a chokehold on her multiple times during their encounter in 2018. In her testimony, she shared McGregor’s chilling words, ‘now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times’, referencing a defeat he experienced in his professional Ultimate Fighting Championship career.
Hand, a professional hair colorist and single mother, explained how fear consumed her while McGregor was involuntarily intimate with her. She recalled apologizing to McGregor after the assault and told him she didn’t intend to disclose the episode to anyone in order to avoid further harm. According to her testimony, she mentioned, ‘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.’
However, McGregor dismissed Hand’s statements as untrue and described their intimate encounter as ‘athletic’ and ‘vigorous’, but not violent. Importantly, he asserted that at no point during their episode did Hand say ‘no’ or indicate any unwillingness.
This incident isn’t an isolated one in McGregor’s history—a previous sexual assault accusation has been levied against him. In 2023, another woman came forward, accusing the MMA athlete of assault in a restroom during a Miami Heat game in the NBA Finals.
This accusation subsequently led to an investigation conducted by the State Attorney’s Office in Miami. However, the proceedings ended with no criminal charges being filed against McGregor due to lack of sufficient incriminating evidence.