Conor McGregor loses appeal against rape finding
Conor McGregor has lost an appeal against a civil finding that he raped a women in a major blow to the UFC star that could set him back by $3 million.
UFC
Don't miss out on the headlines from UFC. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Conor McGregor has lost an appeal against a court finding that he sexually assaulted a woman.
On Thursday, Ireland time, three judges at the Irish Court of Appeal in Dublin dismissed the appeal on all five grounds brought by McGregor.
McGregor was not in court to hear the ruling against him.
A civil trial in late 2024 found the former UFC world champion had raped Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel. She was awarded 250,000 euros ($443,000) in damages and McGregor was liable for her court costs which were estimated to be in the region of 1.3 million euros ($2.3m).
Those costs of around $2.7 million to be paid by McGregor are likely to have substantially risen due to the appeal.
Speaking outside the court on Friday, Ms Hand said she and been “retraumatised” by the appeal.
Ms Hand accused the 37-year-old of “brutally raping and battering” her after a Christmas 2018 night out at the Beacon Hotel in the southern suburbs of Dublin.
The Irish fighter claimed he had consensual sex with Ms Hand.
When the November 2024 verdict of rape was announced, McGregor and long-time partner Dee Devlin were seen in tears comforting each other, while Ms Hand was hugged by her legal team as she began crying.
As it was a civil case, McGregor did not receive a criminal conviction.
McGregor filed for an appeal on several grounds including that an interview he did with police at the time should not have been presented to the jury and that instructions to the jury should have specified “sexual assault” not just “assault”. However, the points were all rejected.
As part of his appeal, McGregor has indicated he would introduce new evidence to explain bruising on Ms Hand’s body. But he withdrew that application as the appeal began.
The court said on Friday that it would refer McGregor’s reversal of his plan to submit new evidence to the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions.
‘Retruamatised’ by appeal
Ms Hand addressed reporters outside the Court of Appeal.
“This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again,” she said, reported the Irish Sun.
“Being forced to relive what happened has had a huge impact on me.
“To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is but please don’t be silenced. You deserve to be heard. You also deserve justice.
“Today I can finally move on and try to heal.”
McGregor has previous convictions including for multiple driving offences. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to punching a man in a Dublin pub.
There have been number of other sexual assault allegations but they have either been dropped or not proceeded due to lack of evidence.
Despite this, McGregor was a guest of honour at the White House earlier this year.
Wrestling fan Donald Trump allowed a picture of McGregor and himself behind the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk. President Trump has said McGregor is one of his favourite Irish people.
In Washington DC, McGregor demanded Ireland’s government a “mass deportation” of “radicalised imports”.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said at the time that McGregor’s views were “wrong” and did not reflect the views of the Irish people, while other political leaders also condemned his comments.
Originally published as Conor McGregor loses appeal against rape finding
Shock twist after Aussie star’s brutality
Robert Whittaker was gutted as his hopes of being UFC champ again copped a major blow as he suffered a tough, narrow loss.
‘Impossible to leave’: Dee stuck with Conor
A major hint that Dee Devlin is ‘clearly not happy’ with Irish megastar Conor McGregor has emerged after the fighter’s latest indiscretion.