Conor McGregor has spoken out after losing a civil assault case in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman named Nikita Hand back in December of 2018.
Hand had accused the 36-year-old McGregor and another man named James Lawrence of raping her at a hotel in Dublin on December 9th of that year, but the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion had argued that it was consensual.
However, a jury in Dublin found him liable of sexual misconduct against Hand, and though a civil trial doesn’t hand down a “guilty” verdict or threaten jail time, it does mean that McGregor has now been ordered to pay Hand more than $250,000 in damages.
“People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes,” McGregor wrote on X yesterday, several days after the verdict was handed down. “Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me. As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath. I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision. I can’t go back and I will move forward. I am beyond grateful to my family, friends and supporters all over the world who have stayed by my side. That’s it. No more. Getting back to the gym — the fight game awaits!”
McGregor’s return to fighting does not appear to be imminent however, with Dana White having recently claimed that it’s likely to be nearer the end of 2025 before he expects him to step back into the Octagon for the first time since breaking his leg in 2021.
Meanwhile, IO Interactive has announced McGregor’s character has been removed from the ‘Hitman’ video game as a result of him losing the civil case.
“In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately,” IO Interactive said in a statement. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
