UFC superstar Conor McGregor has lost his appeal against a civil jury ruling that found he sexually assaulted Irish woman Nikita Hand at a Dublin hotel in December 2018. The ruling was delivered Thursday by Ireland’s Court of Appeal, which dismissed all grounds raised by McGregor’s legal team.
Hand, who was present for the ruling, initially won damages judgment approximately $272,000 USD in November 2024. McGregor did not attend this latest hearing.
McGregor continues to deny the allegations, claiming the sexual encounter was “vigorous” but consensual. His legal team had argued that the trial judge improperly directed the jury by using the word “assaulted” rather than “sexually assaulted,” potentially confusing the jury. However, Justice Brian O’Moore, speaking on behalf of the three judge panel. Dismissed this notion as “unreal,” noting that the trial judge had presented the issue in “brutally clear” terms.
Judges did not like McGregor’s approach
Another failed point of appeal involved the inclusion of McGregor’s repeated “no comment” answers during police interviews. His team argued this created prejudice. But the appeals court emphasized that the original trial judge repeatedly warned the jury not to draw inferences from those responses. The court further ruled that McGregor had not shown “a real risk of an unfair trial” and was not deprived of fair cross-examination opportunities. In addition to upholding the damages. The Court of Appeal also ordered McGregor to pay Hand’s full legal costs. From both the original trial and the appeal estimated at $1.58 million USD.
McGregor (22-6) has not competed in mixed martial arts since he suffered a broken leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Earlier this month, McGregor posted that he had submitted blood and urine samples, signaling reentry into the UFC’s anti-doping program, a prerequisite for returning to active competition. If he’s fully cleared, a fight in late 2025 or early 2026 is feasible.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
