UFC star Conor McGregor has been found civilly liable for raping a woman in a Dublin hotel in 2018, and has been fined 248,000 Euros (around $258,000).

“Brutally r***d and battered” – Civil Jury Delivers Damning Verdict

McGregor and Hand’s encounter came just a couple of months after his devastating defeat to Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. (Image Credit: The Denver Post)

The case centred around a sexual encounter between McGregor, a second man (James Lawrence), the Claimant and another woman in December 2018, a couple of months following McGregor’s devastating defeat to Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov.

The woman at the heart of the case, Nikita Hand, claimed that she had messaged McGregor on the night in question (following a Christmas work party in Dublin), and that McGregor picked her up in his car before bringing the group to a penthouse in the Beacon Hotel in South Dublin . It was there that, according to Ms Hand, she was pinned to a bed, choked three times and “brutally raped and battered” by Conor McGregor. Ms Hand was transparent in admitting to willingly going to the hotel with McGregor, Lawrence and the other woman, but she denied any desire to have intimate relations with McGregor, claiming that she was on her period the night that events unfolded.

As for McGregor, he consistently and strenuously denied and and all allegations of all wrongdoing, although he did admit to the usage of cocaine. He also admitted that the sexual encounter took place, although he fervently maintained that the encounter was consensual.

So, where do we go from here?

It’s important to note from the outset that this case before the Dublin High Court was a CIVIL case, not a criminal one. Nikita Hand brought her claims of rape and sexual assault to the police, but the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to pursue a criminal case against McGregor. This is because the burden of proof for a criminal lawsuit is much more difficult than a civil case. In a criminal case, one has to prove their case “beyond any reasonable doubt”, whereas the burden of proof in a civil lawsuit is simply that of it being “more probable than not” that the case could be proved.

Conor McGregor leaves Dublin High Court following the jury’s award in favour of Nikita Hand. (Image Credit: CNN)

All of that is a long-winded way of saying that the DPP in Dublin could not be reasonably confident of successfully criminally convicting McGregor, but that a civil case could have a much better chance of succeeding in court. This means that Conor McGregor is civilly liable for the crime, but that the penalty will be the above fine, as opposed to any custodial sentence.

In terms of the bigger picture, it’s very hard to see any way back for “The Notorious” one in regards to his combat sports career, which is almost certainly now over.

Keelin McNamara

[Scratches record] Yeah, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up here…or not. My name’s Keelin McNamara, and I am an AVID combat sports fan. Always have been, and probably always will be. I started writing and podcasting about MMA in the Summer of 2020 (yeah, we don’t talk about that here either). I’ve been doing it ever since, and have loved every single minute of it! Thanks for checking out whatever it is you’re reading – I hope you enjoy it!