Former UFC two-division champion, Conor McGregor, lost his civil lawsuit against the woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her inside a Dublin hotel room back in 2018. “Notorious” will be forced to pay the victim upward of €248,000 in damages.
McGregor was ushered out of the courtroom on Friday without comment.
McGregor managed to avoid criminal charges when the case was first brought to authorities, prompting the plaintiff to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in early 2021, which also named accomplice James Lawrence.
The jury was provided an issue paper with two questions to record its decision. The first question asked, “Did Mr. McGregor assault Ms. Hand?” The second question asked, “Did Mr. Lawrence assault Ms. Hand?” Members had to answer “yes” or “no.”
After roughly six hours of deliberations, the jury ruled “yes” for McGregor and “no” for Lawrence.
“A reminder that no matter how afraid you might be to speak up, you have a voice,” the victim told reporters outside the courtroom on Friday. “I want to show [my daughter] Freya and every other young girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and that justice will be served.”
McGregor admitted to sexual intercourse during his testimony but maintained their late-night encounter was “consensual,” despite injuries to the victim recorded by attending physicians — including an emergency room gynecologist — in the hours after the incident.
The 36 year-old McGregor has not competed for UFC since breaking his leg back in summer 2021. As of this writing, his projected return date is late 2025, according to UFC CEO Dana White, though nothing is official at this time.
Expect much more on today’s jury ruling in the coming days.