Nikita Hand Wins €250,000 Civil Rape Case Against Conor McGregor

2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 14

A Dublin jury found Conor McGregor assaulted Nikita Hand in 2018 and awarded her nearly €250,000 after she pursued a civil case instead of a criminal trial.
Irish prosecutors had declined to bring charges in 2020, saying there was no reasonable prospect of conviction, leaving Hand to sue publicly without anonymity against a celebrity who denied wrongdoing.
Hand said she brought the case despite drinking and taking cocaine before the assault because she wanted to challenge the idea that only a “perfect victim” is believed.
The case’s fallout has continued well beyond the 2024 trial: McGregor lost an appeal in July 2025, and police last month charged two people with perjury over evidence tied to that appeal.
Hand, now 37, says severe anxiety ended her hairdressing career; her book Not the Perfect Victim has turned the case into a wider debate over consent, victim-blaming and celebrity platforms.