Conor McGregor files appeal against Dublin sexual assault civil verdict
Conor McGregor has launched an appeal against the high court judgement that he sexually assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
According to numerous Irish outlets, the former UFC two-division champion's appeal was filed Friday.
At the time of publication, the grounds for the appeal have not been made public.
In November, a jury of four men and eight women found McGregor to be liable for sexual assault in the civil lawsuit filed by Nikita Hand. The jury found that the co-accused, James Lawrence, did not sexually assault Hand. Hand was awarded damages of almost €250,000.
Hand had sued claiming that both men had raped her in the Beacon Hotel on Dec. 9, 2018. Both men denied that they had raped Hand and insisted they had consensual sex with her.
In November, during the proceedings, Hand gave evidence that she was 'brutally raped' by McGregor. She told the court that she feared for her life during the incident. Hand's legal representatives alleged that Lawrence falsely claimed he had sex with her to damage her character.
McGregor was additionally ordered to pay the bulk of Hand's costs for the civil action.
In January, the high court ordered McGregor not to disseminate CCTV footage featuring Hand. He was ordered to destroy or give back any footage in his possession. Justice Alexander Owens, who oversaw the civil lawsuit, ordered the mixed martial artist to make a sworn statement detailing how he had deleted the footage.
On Thursday (Feb. 13), Hand's senior counsel John Gordon told the high court that he had received a copy of a second sworn document on the previous day, but it was signed Feb. 7. He told the court that he believed the affidavit to be 'entirely inadequate' and claimed that McGregor had not complied with one aspect of the judge's order.
Gordon said its contents raises 'further significant issues' about Mr McGregor's 'bona fides' and said they need time to consider the document and will be applying for leave to the court to cross examine him on the matter.
The matter will be heard in court on March 6.
Since the jury found in Hand's favor, multiple retail giants in the United Kingdom and Ireland dropped any products related to McGregor. In addition, Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey — the alcohol brand founded by the fighter — announced that it no longer intends to use McGregor's name or likeness in its marketing. Video game developer IO Interactive also distanced itself, removing content featuring McGregor from its video game "Hitman: World of Assassination."
McGregor, 36, has not competed in the UFC since a July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier, during which he suffered a broken leg. He was scheduled to return against Michael Chandler in June at UFC 303, but ultimately withdrew from the bout due to a broken toe.
In addition to the Dublin case, McGregor currently faces a new sexual assault lawsuit stemming from an alleged 2023 incident in Miami.
More recently, McGregor dropped multiple racial slurs in a social media tirade against former UFC rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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