Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has been found guilty of rape.
A jury found that McGregor raped Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
He was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages.
Ms. Hand said her tale was “a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be to speak up, you have a voice” while speaking outside the court on Friday.
In a post on X on Friday evening, McGregor said he will appeal against the verdict and appreciated “all my support worldwide.”
“I am with my family now, focused on my future,” he added.
The jury at the High Court in Dublin deliberated for a day before concluding that McGregor had raped Ms. Hand.
She also filed a case against another man, James Lawrence, 35, of Rafter’s Road, Drimnagh, Dublin.
She said he abused her by having sex with her without her consent at the beacon hotel. The jury determined that he had not assaulted her.
Ms. Hand told reporters she was “overwhelmed and touched” by the support she had received.
She added, “I want to show [my daughter] Freya and every other young girls and boys that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and that justice will be served.”
Both men refuted the 35-year-old hair colourist’s charges, saying they had consensual intercourse with Ms. Hand at the hotel nearly six years ago.
After eight days of testimony and three days listening to closing arguments and the judge’s comments, the jury of eight women and four men deliberated for six hours and ten minutes before arriving with their conclusion.
McGregor shook his head as the jury announced that Ms. Hand had won her case against him.
He was joined by his partner, Dee Devlin, his parents, sister, and brother-in-law.
Ms. Hand, a mother of one, told the court that McGregor pinned her to a bed before abusing her. She suffered severe bruises and abrasions all over her body, including her hands and wrists.
She had a bleeding scrape on her breast and discomfort on her neck after claiming McGregor put her in a “chokehold.”.
He denied creating the bruises, claiming they could have occurred after she “swam” into the hotel room bathtub.
Ms. Hand was taken by ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin the next day, where she was evaluated in the sexual assault treatment section.
A paramedic who checked Ms. Hand told the court she hadn’t seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
The jury had been told that Ms. Hand had to abandon her employment as a hairdresser and has not been able to work since owing to her mental health, that her relationship with her partner terminated months after the incident, that she had to move out of her home in Drimnagh, and that her mortgage was now past due.
She also stated that she had to quit visiting a counsellor because she could no longer afford the appointments.
The court heard that she had spent over €4,000 (£3,326) on GP, pharmacy, and psychotherapy expenses.
