A civil jury in Ireland on Friday found that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying.
The Dublin jury awarded the woman nearly $257,000 for her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her on Dec. 9, 2018, leaving her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that the woman had fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex.
The woman’s lawyer said she never pretended to be a saint and had gone out looking for a good time that ended up turning into a nightmare.
Attorney John Gordon said McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.
“He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” Gordon told jurors. “A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.”
The woman had to take several breaks in her emotional testimony as she said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter.
McGregor put her in a choke hold several times and later told her, “Now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to an Ultimate Fighting Championship when he had to admit defeat, she said.
She feared she would die and never see her daughter again.
“He let me go and I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she said.
She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.
Police investigated the woman’s complaint, but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.
McGregor said the two had sex that was athletic and vigorous, but not rough. He said “She never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie.
“It is a full-blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.”
McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.
“You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”
The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kissing McGregor’s arm and hugging him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.”
McGregor said that when he was first questioned by police, he read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-ups.