MMA fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room, an Irish judge has found

An Irish judge on Friday found that mixed martial artist Conor McGregor He sexually assaulted a woman in a private room at the hotel after a night of intense events.

A Dublin judge awarded the woman an estimated $257,000 for her lawsuit against McGregor. “brutally raped and beaten” on December 9, 2018, leaving her severely injured and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and the woman made her allegations after the two had consensual sex.

The woman’s lawyer said she never pretended to be a saint and went out looking for a good time that ended up turning into a nightmare.

Attorney John Gordon said McGregor was angry about the fight he lost in Las Vegas two months ago and took it out on his client.

“He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” Gordon told jurors. “A deceitful coward, you must treat him for what he is.”

The woman had to take several breaks from her emotional testimony as she said McGregor threatened to kill her during their encounter.

McGregor put him in the refrigerator several times and told him, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I fought three times,” referring to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he had to admit defeat, he said.

He was afraid that he would die and never see his daughter again.

“He let me go and I remembered saying I’m sorry as I felt I had done something wrong and I wanted to assure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she said.

He said he then let her do what she wanted and slept with him.

The police investigated the woman’s complaint, but prosecutors refused to open a case, saying there was not enough evidence and there was little chance of a conviction.

McGregor said the two had sex that was athletic and strong, but not easy. He said “he never said no or stopped” and testified that everything he said was a lie.

“It’s a blatant lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the allegations of strangulation. “How can anyone believe that I, as a proud person, would highlight my shortcomings.”

McGregor’s lawyer told the judges that they should put their hearts aside for the fighter.

“You may not like him, some of you may hate him – there is no reason to think that the situation could be any other way,” said lawyer Remy Farrell. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”

The defendant said the woman never told investigators that McGregor threatened her life. They also showed a surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kissing McGregor’s arm and hugging him after leaving the hotel room. Farrell said he looked “happy, happy, happy.”

McGregor he said that when he was questioned by the police for the first time, he read a prepared statement to them. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 questions.

McGregor has faced allegations of sexual harassment before in the United States. In October 2023, the Miami State Attorney’s Office said that will not pursue criminal charges McGregor after a woman accused him of trying to force her to perform oral sex on him after the NBA Finals game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

He has also faced criminal charges in the US alleged assault again criminal mischief.