Conor McGregor, the mixed martial arts fighter, raped a woman in a Dublin hotel, the city’s High Court was told on Tuesday.

Nikita Ni Laimhin is claiming civil damages against Mr McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, alleging she was sexually assaulted in 2018.

The Irish fighter’s lawyers claim Ms Ni Laimhin is attempting extortion. Both Mr McGregor and Mr Lawrence claim the sex was consensual.

Mr McGregor, nicknamed “Notorious”, was in court to hear Justice Alexander Owen tell the jury it was alleged he and Mr Lawrence had “in effect raped her” on December 9 2018.

The court was told Mr McGregor collected Ms Ni Laimhin, a hairdresser, who has no automatic right to anonymity, and her friend in his car following a Christmas party on December 8.