Conor McGregor to appeal outcome of civil rape case to Supreme Court

Conor McGregor is set to appeal the outcome of his civil rape case against Nikita Hand to the Supreme Court.

McGregor was found liable for assaulting Ms. Hand, who said that the former UFC fighter raped her in a Dublin hotel room in 2018. He is ordered to pay nearly €250,000 in damages against Ms. Hand, as well as her legal costs, while a friend of his, James Lawrence, was found not liable for sexually assaulting her on the same night.

Following the rejection of McGregor’s appeal in the Court of Appeal back in July, McGregor’s new legal team have confirmed that they will be appealing the outcome of the case to the Supreme Court.

A panel of three Supreme Court judges will hear the McGregor appeal and decide at a future date if they will hear the case, as long as the appeal meets the criteria necessary for the court to hear it.

The court will also only hear the appeal if the panel decides that there’s an issue of public importance, or if the appeal is in the interest of justice.

In a statement released on Thursday, McGregor’s new legal team, Mulholland Law, decried "lip service" and that the case was "highly prejudicial," as well as questioning why Mr. Lawrence was not awarded legal costs after he was found not liable.

"Mr. McGregor’s application focuses on his Constitutional right to silence, properly exercised on occasions and enshrined both in Bunreacht na hÉireann and the European Convention on Human Rights. However, lip service was applied in a highly prejudicial and unfair manner before the lower Courts against my Client and it is only right and just that this is considered and clarified by our Supreme Court.

"Equally, there is a necessity that the Supreme Court clarify the legal points raised in the separate application of Mr. Lawrence – a gentleman that was wrongfully and unnecessarily dragged through High Court litigation without cause then following successfully defending the action against him is not awarded costs," the statement continued.

"This is an unprecedented and frightening ruling."

"It was legally shortsighted by the Court of Appeal demonstrating their bias of my clients. An award of costs must always follow the event irrespective of the client or judicial suspicions."

The appeal against McGregor was dismissed back in July on all grounds, most infamously after two people who were Ms. Hand’s neighbours, said that she was assaulted by her then partner on the night in question.

The testimony from the neighbours was withdrawn at the 11th hour, with Ms. Hand’s former neighbours being arrested on suspicion of perjury.

The Supreme Court appeal comes as McGregor officially ended his doomed Presidential campaign, saying in a statement on Twitter (X) earlier this week that "Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race. This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time."

*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.