Conor McGregor ‘froze’ during police questioning over alleged rape

Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor said he answered “no comment” to more than 100 questions during police interviews over allegations he raped a woman in a Dublin hotel because he was “beyond petrified”.

Mr McGregor, who is accused in the civil suit of “brutally raping and assaulting” Nikita Hand, will be cross-examined in the High Court on Thursday.

He previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel.

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.

Following the statement, Mr McGregor was asked more than a hundred follow-up questions by police, to which he replied “no comment”.

Mr McGregor repeatedly stated that he was acting on the advice of his lawyer, adding that he told his lawyers his story and gave his sequence of events.

Asked why he answered “no comment” to each question, Mr McGregor said this was the first time he had been interviewed by gardai and he was “extremely petrified”.

“I would have loved to go to the top of a mountain with a microphone and shout from the hilltops about the series of allegations,” McGregor added.

He told the court he felt he was cooperating with police during the interrogations, adding he was “nervous” and it was “strange” to him.

“It’s the first time in my life that this has happened to me,” he continued.

He said he was in court to plead his case.

“These accusations are false and I came here to speak my piece and tell my truth.”

He rejected claims that he took the bag of cocaine with him when he left Mr Lawrence’s home and returned to the two women, who were waiting in his car.

He said it was a “small piece” of cocaine.

It also emerged that Mr McGregor paid Mr Lawrence’s legal fees.

When John Gordon SC first asked Ms Hand whether he had paid his friend’s legal fees, Mr McGregor replied: “I don’t remember.”

Mr McGregor went on to say that Mr Lawrence was his friend and had been unable to pay the fees.

When asked again whether he had paid Mr Lawrence’s legal fees, Mr McGregor replied “possibly” and later: “I’m not a million percent”.

Mr McGregor said he is facing “staggering legal fees” under the “lies” being put forward.

When asked again, he replied, “I believe so.”