Conor McGregor claims woman who claims he raped her is ‘full of lies’

Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has said a woman accusing him of raping her in a Dublin hotel is “full of lies”.

Mr McGregor, who is accused in the civil suit of “brutally raping and assaulting” Nikita Hand, testified before the High Court on Wednesday.

He told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel, saying “she never said no or stopped”.

Mr McGregor was asked about evidence Ms Hand gave in which she claimed he put her in a headlock and said “now you know how I felt in the octagon” after he was defeated in a 2018 match.

‘Your client is full of lies. Everything is a lie,” McGregor said.

“How anyone could believe that I, as a proud person, would highlight my shortcomings.

“It’s an outright lie among many lies.”

He later described the claim as a “fantasy.”

Ms Hand, who is seeking civil damages against Mr McGregor and another man, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the alleged incident in December 2018.

Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, is also suing another man, James Lawrence, for sexual assault on December 9, 2018.

Ms Hand, who does not have an automatic right to anonymity, has accused Mr McGregor of pinning her to a bed and raping her in a hotel room in south Dublin.

Giving evidence on the sixth day of the case, Mr McGregor told John Gordon SC that he “didn’t force anyone to do anything against his will”.

He described the sex between him and Ms Hand as ‘vigorous, athletic, physical and long’, adding that it was ‘not rough’.

Mr McGregor denied causing the bruises on her body and said they may have been caused when she took a “swan dive” into a bath while they were partying in the hotel suite.

He also claimed Ms Hand was not wearing a tampon on the day of the alleged incident, and said he would not have had sex with her during her cycle.

Mr McGregor described how he had been in Dublin with friends the night before and said goodbye at the Krystle nightclub until about 6am or 7am.

He told the court he had received a picture message on Instagram earlier in the day from Ms Hand wearing a ‘dress’, claiming it was ‘somewhat provocative’.

Mr McGregor said he received a “load of messages” from Ms Hand throughout the evening, asking him to come and meet her and her friends.

After Ms Hand and her colleague, Danielle Kealey, were picked up from the hair salon on the morning of the alleged incident, Mr McGregor’s driver picked up Mr Lawrence.

They all went to the Beacon Hotel, where Mr McGregor had booked a penthouse suite.

He said the atmosphere was “really fun, very playful and full of energy.”

After arriving at the hotel room, he said the party was “in full swing,” and claimed he and Ms. Hand “got close, kissed and touched.”

He told the court that Mrs Hand followed him into the bathroom and that she was “very energetic and enthusiastic”.

Mr McGregor said he had the zipper of his trousers open when they started kissing and that he was “a lot more passionate” and it “took off from there”.

He said: “She was performing oral sex on me at the time. We started taking off our clothes. We were both naked in the bedroom and we moved to bed.

“We started with completely consensual sex. It started in the missionary position.”

He described the sex as “enthusiastic and athletic,” adding that it was “so fun, good-natured and happy.”

He also dismissed the claim that she was wearing a tampon, saying it was in a room in broad daylight and he did not see or feel one.

He told the court there was no blood or discussion about a tampon.

The court heard that Mr McGregor had fallen asleep and woke up after a few hours, and that Ms Hand had “proposed” to him again.

He claimed the couple had consensual sex for the second time.

Mr McGregor said that in the days after the alleged incident he heard talk of a sports star being accused of rape.

‘It’s not me. It certainly isn’t, was my first thought. Then I started hearing rumors and I was incredibly shocked and scared,” he added.

“It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced in my life.”

He said he had taken notes and wanted to know everything he could about his memory of the evening.

When asked by Mr Gordon why he did not give his phone to police as part of the investigation, Mr McGregor said they had not asked.

He said he was “angry about that” and wanted “every piece of evidence” in court.

Mr McGregor was then asked by Judge Alexander Owens to “control himself” after swearing while giving evidence.

Asked how he thinks she sustained injuries to her body, Mr McGregor said she “dipped into the bath with a swan and was out for three days”.

He went on to say that Ms Hand’s claims about how she was injured were “lies”.

When asked if these were the worst bruises he has ever seen on a woman, he said “no.”

Earlier, Ms Kealey, who was in Ms Hand’s hotel room, told the court she was “surprised” when she heard of the alleged assault.

Ms Kealey told the court she was in south Dublin with Ms Hand as part of a Christmas work party.

Ms Kealey, who was called by Remy Farrell SC to give evidence for Mr McGregor, said she did not know Ms Hand well.

Asked to describe the atmosphere in the penthouse, she said everything was fine and everyone was in good shape.

She told the court she knew Ms Hand and Mr McGregor had gone into the bedroom but she ‘didn’t know much about it’.

She said she did not know what was happening in the room, and that when Ms. Hand returned to the main room of the penthouse, “everything was fine.”

“Everything was fine and no one was in bad shape. I didn’t notice anything that happened,” Ms Kealey said.

When asked if anyone seemed angry, she said “no.”

Ms Kealey said Ms Hand contacted her in the days after the alleged incident claiming she had been raped.

Asked about her reaction, Ms Kealey said: “I was surprised because I didn’t see anything.

“I told her I hadn’t seen or heard anything.”

She also told the court that Ms Hand had asked her to delete messages between the two.

The court also heard from Dr Charlotte Murphy, a forensic scientist with Forensic Science Ireland, who examined samples taken from Ms Hand and her clothing 10 hours after the alleged incident.

The court heard that the straps of a jumpsuit worn by Ms Hand were damaged beyond normal wear and tear.

She said one strap had torn off, which was consistent with pulling.

Dr. Murphy said traces of semen were found on Ms Hand’s jumpsuit and trousers, and that DNA from swabs of her vagina was a billion times more likely to match Mr McGregor’s DNA than anyone else.

The case continues.