A jury found Conor McGregor liable for sexually assaulting a woman who claimed the mixed martial arts fighter “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018, and McGregor has been ordered to pay more than $250,000 in damages, according to multiple reports.
The victim, who alleged the mixed martial arts fighter had “brutally raped and battered” her, was ... [+]
A jury in Dublin awarded the woman about €250,000 ($257,000) after accusing McGregor, 36, and another man, James Lawrence, 35, of sexually assaulting her on Dec. 8, 2018, while staying at a south Dublin hotel, the Associated Press reported.
The woman filed a civil suit against McGregor and Lawrence in 2021, alleging McGregor forced her onto a bed in a penthouse suite and “brutally raped and battered her” after they attended a Christmas party.
John Gordon, an attorney representing the woman, said McGregor referred to a fight he lost two months earlier and had placed the woman in a choke hold several times during their encounter, during which McGregor would say, “Now you know how I felt in the octagon.”
A paramedic who treated her after the incident reportedly testified the woman was found “very bruised” on her lower neck, chest, legs and thighs, though McGregor denied harming her.
The woman accused Lawrence of raping her after McGregor left the room, though the jury found Lawrence was not liable for sexual assault after he testified the sexual interaction was consensual, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
McGregor denied the claims during testimony earlier this month and accused the woman of being “full of lies,” saying he and the woman had consensual sex and that he did not force her to do anything against her will.
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The woman initially pursued criminal charges against McGregor for the incident in 2020, though Irish prosecutors declined to take up the case while citing a high unlikelihood of convicting the fighter, according to RTÉ.
McGregor, a former UFC champion, has faced other sexual assault allegations. A woman accused McGregor of attempting to force her to perform oral sex on him in 2023, though the State Attorney’s Office of Miami said it would not pursue criminal charges, CBS News reported. He was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief after a brawl backstage during a UFC fight in 2018. McGregor reached a plea deal while pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, avoiding jail time. The former fighter was previously ranked by Forbes as the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2021 after earning $180 million.