Conor McGregor’s legal team has withdrawn a ‘bombshell’ allegation from their civil sexual assault case appeal that made major waves when it was announced months ago.
McGregor was found legally liable for a 2018 assault on Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel, with the civil trial coming to a close in November 2024. McGregor’s lawyers were back in court yesterday (Tue. July 1st, 2025) as part of the Irish sports star’s appeal, and they ended up withdrawing a pretty major element of their case.
McGregor’s lawyers had submitted testimonies from neighbors of Hand that claimed they witnessed her partner beating her up following the day she spent with McGregor at a hotel. McGregor has always maintained that he had consensual sex with Hand and did not know how she ended up covered in bruises as per police reports.
These new affidavits from Hand’s neighbors plugged that very significant hole in his defense. Or they would if McGregor was sticking with them.
During the Tuesday hearing, his lawyers withdrew the ground of appeal related to the neighbors’ statements, saying they could not move forward on it because of difficulties introducing a report from a state pathologist to support the statements.
Hand’s lawyers reacted in anger at the late withdrawal of the ground of appeal, noting that Hand had been put ‘through the ringer’ in the press over these claims. They suggested they’d be taking the matter to the Director of Public Prosecution for potential perjury as well as subornation of perjury by McGregor.
McGregor’s appeal isn’t done yet. His team is attacking the guilty verdict on procedural points, arguing that it was improper for the judge to allow jurors to hear he’d answered ‘No comment’ to Garda over 150 times during an initial interview regarding the alleged assault. They also argue it was improper that the jury had been asked to rule on whether he’d ‘assaulted’ Hand rather than specifying ‘sexual assault.’
The pre-appeal process continues through the week in Irish court, and we’ll keep you informed of new developments as they occur.
