Nikita Hand has been awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages after a jury at Dublin’s High Court determined that Conor McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018. Following the verdict, Hand stated that “justice has been served.”
McGregor, 36, left the court promptly after the decision on Friday evening without comment. He later issued a statement indicating his intention to appeal the ruling, expressing disappointment that the jury did not hear all the evidence reviewed by the director of public prosecutions. He concluded the statement by saying he is focused on his family and future.
During the trial, McGregor claimed the encounter was consensual, stating that he had sexual relations with Hand in the penthouse of the Beacon Hotel in December 2018.
After the trial, an emotional Hand shared that the last two weeks had been a “nightmare,” affecting her life and those of her loved ones. “I am overwhelmed and touched by the support I have received from everybody,” she said. She expressed hope that her story would encourage others to speak out against their abusers, stating, “You have a voice, and keep on fighting for justice. No matter who the person is, justice will be served.”
Hand testified that McGregor pinned her to a bed, choked her three times, and “brutally raped and battered” her. The jury heard she sustained extensive injuries, including bruising on her hands and wrists, a bloodied scratch on her breast, and tenderness to her neck.
McGregor’s legal team contested the lawsuit, accusing Hand of attempted “extortion” and pointing to CCTV footage showing her arriving and leaving the hotel with McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, whom she also accused of assault. Both men denied any wrongdoing.
While Hand prevailed against McGregor, she lost her civil claim against Lawrence.
At the trial’s outset, the court was informed that masked men had broken into Hand’s home, causing damage and injuring her boyfriend. Though Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, stated the attack seemed targeted and could be linked to support for McGregor, the judge ruled this information to be irrelevant to the case.
Throughout the proceedings, McGregor’s attorneys urged jurors to judge the facts of the case rather than his public persona. The trial revealed that Hand and McGregor had interacted on social media before the incident and that she had reached out to him prior to being picked up by the fighter, which led to the encounter in question.
Credit: Sky News
