A jury in Ireland ordered MMA fighter Conor McGregor to pay nearly €250,000 to a woman after she filed a lawsuit arguing McGregor raped and assaulted her in 2018.
Following the verdict, plaintiff Nikita Hand encouraged other women to speak u
A civil jury in Ireland on Friday ordered mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor to pay nearly €250,000 (close to $260,000) in damages for sexually assaulting a woman in Dublin in 2018.
The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict after six hours and 10 minutes of deliberation.
During two weeks of evidence, the plaintiff Nikita Hand alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same.
The woman’s lawsuit, heard in Ireland’s high court, claimed McGregor had “brutally raped and battered” her on December 9, 2018, and that he was left heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
During oftentimes emotional testimony, Hand said that she and a friend had met McGregor after a work Christmas party, and were driven to a party in a penthouse room of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed.
She said McGregor took her to a bedroom and sexually assaulted her.
McGregor (r) is engaged to his long-time partner Dee Devlin (l) and the couple has four children togetherImage: Brian Lawless/AP Photo/picture alliance
Hand said McGregor put her in a choke hold multiple times and later told her, “Now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to an Ultimate Fighting Championship when the athlete had to admit defeat.
She told the court she feared she would die and never see her daughter again.
Hand’s lawyer John Gordon told the jury that she was referred to a sexual assault treatment unit the day after the alleged assault.
He said that a doctor was so concerned that he directed that photographs be taken of her injuries
