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Former mixed martial arts (MMA) star Conor McGregor has lost his appeal against a civil jury's decision that found him liable for sexually assaulting Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. On Thursday, Ireland's Court of Appeal unanimously rejected all grounds presented by McGregor's legal team, marking a definitive end to the civil litigation.
In November last year, a jury of eight women and four men found McGregor liable and ordered him to pay nearly €250,000 (approximately £215,000) in damages. McGregor, who denied the allegations and maintained that the encounter was consensual, launched his appeal in February, claiming "Justice and truth will prevail!"
The appeal centred on multiple issues, including how McGregor's repeated "no comment" responses nearly 100 times during police interviews were presented to the jury. His lawyers argued that this created an unfair inference. However, the Court of Appeal ruled that McGregor's legal team had "not established that there was a real risk of an unfair trial."
A major part of the appeal was also based on the language used in the jury's issue paper, which asked, "Did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?" His legal team argued that the term should have been "sexual assault." The judges dismissed the claim, stating it was "simply unreal" to suggest that jurors misunderstood the nature of the accusation. A barrister for Ms Hand emphasized that "what we were dealing with was assault by rape," noting that the question had been agreed upon during the trial.
McGregor had also attempted to introduce new evidence from a couple who were former neighbours of Ms Hand. They claimed she had visible bruises after a row with her former partner. However, this evidence was abruptly withdrawn, a move described by the judges as "somewhat mysterious" and one that "met with this court's displeasure." The withdrawal ultimately reinforced the credibility of Ms Hand, who had previously stated the claims were "untrue and lies."
McGregor was not present during the court proceedings. Ms Hand attended the session and, after the ruling, said, "This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again... To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please, don't be silenced. You also deserve justice."
McGregor's co-defendant, James Lawrence, who had been found not liable by the jury, also lost his appeal over legal costs. The Court concluded by awarding Ms Hand full costs and dismissing the appeals "in their entirety."
