People want to hear from me, I needed time.
I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never
responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. 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…
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 25, 2024
Conor McGregor has released a statement after being found liable for sexual assault against a woman named Nikita Hand. Hand accused McGregor and a man named James Lawrence of raping her in a Dublin hotel on Dec. 9, 2018. A jury in a Dublin court recently ruled against McGregor in a civil lawsuit, finding him liable for sexual misconduct. While McGregor wasn’t pronounced “guilty” as it was a civil case, he is ordered to pay Hand more than $250,000 in damages.
“Notorious” recently addressed the ruling, continuing to deny the rape allegations while claiming to have had consensual sex with Hand in December 2018. McGregor also admitted that cheating on his wife Dee Devlin, with whom he has four kids, was a mistake. The former UFC two-division champion plans to appeal the verdict in a higher court. The Dubliner also vows to make a return to the Octagon.
“People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes,” McGregor wrote on X. “Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. 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. I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision. 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 hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in a trilogy loss against Dustin Poirier in 2021. McGregor was matched up against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 this past June but was forced out with a broken toe injury.
