Nikita Hand to sue Conor McGregor and neighbours after fighter loses civil case appeal

Nikita Hand is set to sue Conor McGregor again, as well as her former neighbours.

The former UFC fighter was found liable for the assault of Ms. Hand, who said that McGregor raped her in a Dublin hotel suite in 2018.

McGregor lost the appeal against the jury’s findings on Thursday (July 31), where he was expected to bring in Ms. Hand’s former neighbours Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins, who said that Ms. Hand’s former partner assaulted her on the night in question.

However, the application was withdrawn under what were described as "mysterious circumstances."

Following the findings against McGregor on Thursday, Ms. Hand’s legal team said that she was issuing further proceedings against McGregor, as well as Ms. O’Reilly and Mr. Cummins in an action filed on Thursday.

It has been reported that Ms. Hand alleges the parties engaged in malicious abuse of the courts, following Ms. O’Reilly and Mr. Cummins’ suggestion that Ms. Hand was assaulted by her then partner on the night that she says she was raped by McGregor.

McGregor told the Court of Appeal that Ms. O’Reilly and Mr. Cummins’ statements would have provided a "plausible explanation" for the bruising on Ms. Hand’s body, which he said he didn’t cause — but the application was abandoned on the morning the proceedings began, with Ms. Hand calling the statements by Mr. Cummins and Ms. O’Reilly "lies."

The Court of Appeal dismissed all five grounds of McGregor’s appeal against the ruling made against him back in November, and awarded Ms. Hand her legal costs against McGregor at the "highest possible level." She was initially awarded nearly €250,000 in damages.

Speaking as she left the Four Courts on Thursday, Ms. Hand said she did not have a message for McGregor.

"I want to begin by thanking my legal team, the Rape Crisis Centre, and the three judges who delivered the decision today,’ she said in a statement outside court.

"I’m also deeply grateful for everyone who supported me and those who believed in me and stood by my side throughout this case.

"This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she added.

"To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please don’t be silenced. You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today I can finally move on and try to heal."

July 31, 2025: Nikita Hand speaking in Dublin after Conor McGregor's appeal was dismissed. (RollingNews.ie)

Mr. Justice O’Moore said the manner in which the new evidence was abandoned "in the last moment… remain mysterious."

McGregor’s appeal proceeded on other grounds, including in relation to his "no comment" replies during garda interviews and whether the issue paper to the jury should have specified sexual assault and not "assault."

Mr. Justice O’Moore cited several examples of the jury being told to disregard the "no comment" answers McGregor gave to gardai and not to draw any inference from that, and described the difference between the jury being told to disregard these, as directed by McGregor’s legal team, and telling them they are simply not evidence was "gossamer thin."

He also said there was "no doubt" that in the trial judge’s charge, the central allegation was that McGregor had raped Ms. Hand and that this was the assault being referred to.

He said it was "unreal" to suggest that the jury became confused when it was stated in such a clear way by the judge.

Extra.ie have contacted Ms. Hand’s legal team for comment.

*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.