CONOR McGregor has today lost his appeal against a High Court jury’s finding that he raped Nikita Hand.
McGregor, who told the civil trial he had consensual sex with Ms Hand in a Dublin penthouse in December 2018, launched an appeal after a jury of eight women and four men found him civilly liable.
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McGregor was not present for proceedings at the Court of Appeal in Dublin this afternoon but Ms Hand was.
The 37-year-old had intended to introduce fresh evidence into his appeal.
He had provided affidavits by Samantha O’Reilly and her partner Steven Cummins, former neighbours of Ms Hand when she lived in Drimnagh, to the Court of Appeal.
Samantha O’Reilly said she had witnessed a physical row between Ms Hand and her then-partner at about the same time of the incident at the Beacon hotel.
Ms Hand sued the fighter after she claimed he “brutally raped and battered” her in the penthouse of the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford, Dublin, in December, 2018.
During a three-week case at the High Court last November, the fighter told the court the pair had “consensual” sex.
A jury of eight women and four men found him civilly liable for assault and Ms Hand was awarded €248,603.60 in damages.
Ms Hand denied any altercation with her former partner and the court heard she characterised the claims from Ms O’Reilly and Ms O’Reilly’s partner Steven Cummins as “lies”.
In the opening moments of today’s hearing, her counsel contended that McGregor was now “conceding” that fact.
After the “fresh” evidence was withdrawn, the appeal continued on other grounds.
Today, Judge Brian O’Moore said there was “no fresh argument made” as the evidence had been withdrawn.
The court based its ruling on McGregor’s remaining grounds of appeal.
This was that his garda interviews should not have been admitted into evidence and that the issue paper given to the jury should have specified sexual assault and not just “assault”.
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