MMA fighter Conor McGregor responded on social media days after he was found liable for a 2018 sexual assault, saying he ‘made mistakes’ but maintained his innocence.
Nikita Hand said that McGregor ‘brutally raped and battered” her in a Dublin hotel on Dec. 9, 2018. A civil jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault, and McGregor was also ordered to pay more than $250,000 in damages.
In a social media post, McGregor said he ‘should have never responded to her outreaches’ on the night in question and admitted infidelity.
‘I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me. As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath,’ he wrote.
McGregor says he will appeal the decision, instructing his legal counsel to do so.
‘I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision,’ he wrote. ‘I can’t go back and I will move forward. I am beyond grateful to my family, friends and supporters all over the world who have stayed by my side. That’s it. No more. Getting back to the gym – the fight game awaits!’
McGregor, 36, has a 22-6 MMA record and last fought in July 2021 at UFC 264, losing in a first-round TKO to Dustin Poirier.