‘Scared’ Conor McGregor says ‘my life is at stake’ and tells court woman accusing him of rape is ‘full of lies’ and they enjoyed ‘vigorous, athletic and long’ sex

Conor McGregor has said the woman who claims he raped her is ‘full of lies’ and has insisted none of the bruises on her body were caused by him.

The mixed martial arts (MMA) champion told the High Court that he had sex with Nikita Hand twice in the penthouse of the four-star Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December 2018, and that she was ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘boisterous’.

He denied putting her in a chokehold, or referring to a previous fight he lost three months earlier, and said being accused of rape was “frightening.”

“My life is at stake,” he said.

Mr McGregor and his friend James Lawrence have both been sued for damages by hairdresser Nikita Hand, 35, from Drimnagh, Dublin, who claimed they both raped her at the hotel after a cocaine and alcohol-filled after-party. Both have denied her claim and claimed the sex was consensual.

When asked about her extensive bruising, Mr McGregor said he was initially shocked by the photos gardaí showed him, ‘but when I started putting it together, not so bad’.

He said she threw herself into a bath fully clothed with a “thud” and a “swan dive” when they first entered the suite and that they later enjoyed “physical, vigorous, athletic and prolonged” sex in a number of positions . .

‘The sex wasn’t rough. It was physical. “It wasn’t rough in any way,” he said.

Conor McGregor will leave the Supreme Court on November 13 for the case against him

Mr McGregor and his friend James Lawrence have both been sued for damages by hairdresser Nikita Hand, 35, of Drimnagh, Dublin

Mr McGregor also suggested that the hairdresser – then aged 29 – could have hurt herself at other times between her work Christmas party on Saturday, December 8, meeting him the next day and the visit to the Rotunda Hospital on Monday, December 10 . .

The court heard she had been drinking heavily and using cocaine, which Mr McGregor took to his car in a bag.

He said he was surprised by the evidence of the advanced paramedic who examined Ms Hand on December 10 and who told the court she had never seen such serious bruising.

He said he thought that was strange considering her profession.

When asked by Ms Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, if he had seen such bruises on a woman before, he said he had.

He denied restraining Ms Hand or choking her three times, as she claims.

Mr McGregor agreed he had forfeited a key fight in October 2018 after being held in a neck crutch by his opponent – which he said would look like a headlock “to the untrained eye”.

However, he denied her claim that he told her she now knew how he had felt during a fight in the octagon when he had to tap out. But he said, “No proud person like me would highlight my shortcomings. It’s not in my nature. It’s a complete lie.’

Mr. Gordon asked, “Are you saying she’s so cunning that she’s made up an obvious lie?” “Yes,” he replied. “It’s a lie, and it’s almost a fantasy. In my head it feels like a fantasy.’

Asked whether he had listened to the medical evidence about the bruising around Ms Hand’s neck, he said he had heard the ‘SATU man’ – the doctor in the hospital’s sexual assault treatment unit – say that a mark on her neck ‘a love bite’. Of the stifling accusation, he said: “It wasn’t nice to hear, but it’s a lie, an absolute lie.”

Mr McGregor agreed with his own lawyer, Remy Farrell, that there had been “a lot of talk” on social media after his day at the Beacon Hotel about an alleged assault involving a sports star. He said: ‘It’s definitely not me, was my first thought. Then I started hearing rumors. I was shocked and scared. It was incredible.

‘It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.’

Conor McGregor with his father Tony McGregor (left) outside the High Court in Dublin

DNA samples matching the profile of MMA fighter Conor McGregor have been found on the body, underwear and clothing of Nikita Hand, the woman accusing him of rape, the Supreme Court has heard

When he heard that Ms Hand had made a statement to gardaí about rape, he said: “It was clearly a very frightening experience. My life is at stake.’ He said he wanted to “do everything correctly,” immediately contacted a lawyer and took notes of everything that happened.

When asked why he had not handed his phone over to gardaí, he said: “They didn’t ask.”

He agreed that his lawyers had asked gardaí to obtain CCTV footage from the hotel, but said he was ‘dismayed’ that more evidence about the day’s events had not been sought. In a sudden outburst he said, “I want every drop of evidence here. I want the cab driver to say your client was fucking and sucking, this is insane.”

Judge Alexander Owens intervened and asked him to moderate his language. Mr McGregor said he was relaxing after training at his home at the K Club in Straffan, Co, on Saturday, December 8. Kildare. He heard that the District 8 nightclub in Dublin was having a closing party and asked his driver/security guard to take him in.

He posted a photo of himself on stage on his Instagram and Ms. Hand responded privately. He said that although he did not know her personally, they were from a similar area in Dublin and moved in ‘the same circles’. Mr McGregor’s group also went to Krystle nightclub, where they stayed until about 6/7am.

Ms Hand later sent him a photo of herself at her Christmas party wearing a red jumpsuit, the court heard. He said she invited him to her salon during a ‘load of messages’, and the court heard Ms Hand and Danielle Kealey ‘jumped’ into his car when it pulled up at 10.15am.

They picked up his friend James Lawrence, who had been away but had already gone home, ‘to balance the group’, and headed to the Beacon.

Cross-examination of Mr McGregor continues today.