Conor McGregor was on the witness stand for the first time this afternoon as the civil rape case against him proceeds at the High Court.
Asked by his representative, Remy Farrell SC, how he came to know the woman accusing him of raping her, Nikita Hand, McGregor said that they two were both from the same area.
He said he didn’t know her personally but that he knew of her , had seen her around and that they were “in the same circles.”
He said that Hand had followed him on instagram but that he did not follow her back. He said that she sent him messages from time to time and, “sometimes I responded.”
He said that the day before he had received messages from Hand and that he was “not 100% sure why” she had contacted him on that occasion.
McGregor said he thought she had given him “some sort of compliment” and that he had replied to say “thank you”.
He said that being on instagram and occasionally responding to followers was part of “modern life”.
He said he didn’t follow her but “knew of her”, “The message came through and I responded.” he said.
McGregor said that on the 8th of December he had been training and that he had left the evening somewhat free in order to see what was going on in Dublin City.
He said he had heard that there was a DJ event at a club called District 8 and that he decided to get his driver and go.
McGregor said that when he got to the venue the event organiser had pulled him up on stage and that he had taken a selfie of himself at the place and posted this on his instagram story.
He said that Hand had responded to the picture on his public story by sending a photo of herself which he described as a “slightly provocative” and “friendly pic”.
“It was a nice picture, I liked it.” he told the court.
He said that after partying with some training mates at District 8 he decided to go to Krystal on Harcourt Street.
He agreed that he’d “had a few drinks”. He said he’d also been driven around in his car by his driver on the evening, “I love driving around in the car.” he said.
McGregor, who was absent from the morning session of the court due to what he said were issues with his stomach, said that he went to Krystal with James Lawrence and some friends from the gym as well as some others who had been “picked up along the way”.
He said he had been given a table at Krystal which he described as a “very very busy nightclub” and that he ordered rounds of drinks for everyone with him.
He agreed that during the course of the night, “There was a bit of cocaine”.
He said that Krystal had remained open into the early hours of the morning, remarking, “I don’t know how they have their licence”.
McGregor said that when he was finishing up at Krystal he wondered what to do next. He said he was “feeling it out myself” and that some of the others were “trying to get something going”.
He said that he had driven around for a time and that some of the others had “started to disperse”.
He described having two cars out with two drivers and said this was quite common for him when he goes out so there is transport available for him and whoever is in his company.
He said he had asked for a hotel room to be booked for him and that his staff had rung around and found a vacancy at the penthouse of the Beacon Hotel. The court heard that the booking had been made at around 4am on the morning of the 9th of December 2018.
McGregor said that he had arrived in the area of the Goat pub at around 10am and couldn’t remember if James Lawrence had made his way home at that point..He said that Nikita Hand had said that there was a party going on at the salon she worked at on the other side of the road and that he had been expecting to arrive to find this party still ongoing.
He said that he had received a “slew of messages” from Hand while he was out at the other locations and “wasn’t really responding” as he was doing his “own thing”.
McGregor claimed that Hand had sent messages saying, “Come out and get us” and “We’re in the Goat,”
He said that although he was expecting a party to be ongoing there that when he arrived he found Nikita Hand and Danielle Kealey waiting for him, “they were outside the car in a blink”, he said, adding that he was “unsure what to do” and just had the car drive around.
He said that in the car he was “just getting to know them” and had “no plans immediately” to continue on in their company.
McGregor said that when Hand got into the car she was “bombastic” and “energetic”.
He recalled some awkwardness with Kealey saying that it had seemed that she thought his was “showing off” his “nice watch” and that she had been “slagging him” over this.
“She began to jeer me and make fun of me because of it.” he said.
He said that because he “did not know the two ladies” and that he “thought I was going to their party” coupled with them “slagging me” he was of a mind to drop them home.
He said that Hand had protested against this saying, “No no, let’s keep going.”
McGregor said that he wasn’t very close to James Lawrence but that the pair had played Call of Duty together in James’ house when McGregor was in his late teens.
He said he thought Lawrence would be “perfect” to match with the two “boisterous ladies” in order to “level it out” and that Lawrence also knew Hand.
He denied what Nikita Hand told the court about the car driving around and beeping outside houses.
He said that he had gone to Lawrence’s house and that he had “somewhat reluctantly” agreed to join, and that he didn’t remember if Lawrence was wearing shoes at the time.
The court precious heard that during the evening, including on images captured by hotel CCTV, Lawrence was barefoot.
McGregor said that if he had noticed this he would have “got him his shoes”.
He said that at this time he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring the group to the hotel and that he “wanted to see what the vibe” was like first.
McGregor said that after some time the group were “having a great bit of fun in the car” and “everyone was laughing”, “loving life”, and that he then decided to go to the Beacon Hotel.
He said there had been “no secret” about where the hotel was. He said that he was asked to get things for the group “and I was obliged.”
McGregor said that after his car arrived at the hotel there was a delay before the group went up to the room in which his security/driver did the check in.
He said that his security also acted as drivers as this was a way to “bridge the cost” of staff.
He said that all through the evening the mood was the same “very fun, very happy”, he said.
He said that the interlocking door in the penthouse “was fully open” at all times during the time the group were in the hotel.
McGregor said that Nikita Hand had “jumped” into the empty bath in the suite and that she had “pretended to swim” while clothed. He said he had found this “amusing”.
“It was a strange one, but yeah, that’s it.” he said.
He said that some vodka, some mixers, and some beers had been wheeled “right into the sitting room” and that Bacardi had been ordered for Hand and that this was “all for her” as “Nikita loves Bacardi”.
He said that the four were “having fun getting to know each other” and that he and Hand were “getting close”, “kissing”, and “touching”.
He claimed that they had first kissed while in the car.
McGregor said that he had gone to the bathroom which was in the bedroom area and that Hand had “followed me in”.
He said that when she came in he had his zip undone and that he couldn’t remember if he had actually used the toilet or not.
He said she was “in and out” of the bathroom and that she was “very boisterous”, “very energetic”, and “very enthusiastic”.
He said they began kissing and he began to take off his trousers at which point Hand performed oral sex on him.
He said that they undressed themselves with her removing her “onsie thing” and moved to the bed where they were intimate.
McGregor said that the sofa bed where Healey and Lawrence were in the sitting room was “three feet away” from the bed he and Hand were on.
He said that he and Hand were engaging in sexual intercourse and that this was “fully consensual”.
Pressed to be more specific, he said “I’m on top of her” and that the sex was “enthusiastic” and “athletic” and that at one point her legs were on his shoulders.
He said that his hands were on back of her thighs and that “she wished to get on top of me”.
He said the pair had been in a “multitude of positions” and that this “went on for a bit”.
He claimed that Hand had heard Kealey and Lawrence being intimate and had stuck her head around into the sitting room area and that the mood was “All good hearted” and “All happy”.
Asked if he had ejaculated he said, “I did yeah”.
He said that after he had been intimate with Hand they had had some drinks on the bed. He said that there was “no tampon” from what he “could see” and “feel”. He also said there was “no blood”.
McGregor said that he had fallen asleep and been woken up by Hand and Lawrence holding his legs.
He said he had told them to “leave me alone”, saying, “ I’m done I’m going to sleep.”
“She propositioned me again,” he said, claiming that Hand had performed oral sex on him again and that they had again been intimate with her “solely on top of me” this time.
“As soon as I woke up I was thinking I’m gonna go.” he said.
He said that the group had been at the hotel for around six hours and that he had slept for about two of these.
He said he thought the sexual encounters had started around one hour after arriving. He said that when he was leaving the hotel Kealey had asked him for a life home and that after some thought he had agreed as “she was a nice girl”.
He said that he told the others that they could stay on and get more drinks or food with his card and that his other driver would ferry them home.
McGregor said that when he and Kealey walked to the car to leave Hand came over and hugged Kealey goodbye.
He said that she had tried to get him to get out of the car but that he told the driver to leave.
McGregor said that at this point Hand had “no bruises whatsoever” and that “not an iota of distress was seen” from her “all throughout the evening”.
He said that when he was shown Garda photos of bruising on her body he said that these “definitely not me” and that he was “shocked and frightened beyond belief”.
He said it was the “most scary thing I’ve ever gone through in my life, at that time”
Senior counsel for Nikita Hand, John Gordon asked McGregor why he hadn’t given his phone over to the Gardaí, he replied, “They didn’t ask.
Asked why he didn’t offer to hand it over he said, this “never came up”.
McGregor said that “there was nothing on the phone” and that he was upset over” the Gardaí not asking for it.
Here McGregor said that he wanted a statement from the taxi that Hand and Lawrence left the Beacon Hotel in to be recovered and accused Hand of, “sucking his fucking dick in the back of the thing, it was crazy.” he said.
Judge Andrew Ownes asked McGregor to “restrain” his remarks.
McGregor insisted that he wanted to give all the evidence he could saying to Mr. Gordon SC about the phone he used at the time, “If you want it pal, no problem.”
Mr. Gordon asked McGregor about claims Hand has made that when he choked her he made reference to a match he lost in which he tapped out after being caught by his opponent in a choke hold of sorts.
In her testimony, Hand said that McGregor choked her three times and that he had said that this was how he felt in the Octagon when he tapped out.
He responded that this Hand was “full of lies”, “Your client is full of lies,” he told Gordon.
Mr. Gordon argued that salon manager Eimear Burke had agreed that Hand had told her about McGregor making this remark.
“It’s not in my nature.” he said, “It’s a full blown lie”, he added, “among many” lies.
When Gordon argued that Hand “knew nothing” about the rules of MMA, McGregor said that she had attended a match of his in Los Angeles in 2015.
Hand denies having attended this match, although she agreed that she was in the area at the time.
“It’s a lie and it’s almost a fantasy,” he said.
Regarding bruising on her neck he said that the SATU doctor had described this as “consistent with a love bite.”
When Mr. Gordon suggested that Hand sounded “hoarse” on a recording made unbeknownst to her by her ex partner, he said that he did not agree that she was hoarse. He pointed to a part of the interaction where Hand had claimed to have “got the better of me.”
Asked where he thought she got the bruising he said that he thought it was from when he said she jumped into the bath.
Regarding the other bruising in her body he said that the sex “was athletic” and “physical” in a“multitude of positions” but that it was “not rough”.
He said that his hands had been on her hips and buttocks but that she had not bit him.
Gordon claimed that when McGregor was shown the images of the bruising on Hand’s body he went with a statement prepared with the help of his solicitor to the Gardaí in which he said that the injuries had not been caused by him.
In this he had said during the course of intercourse Hand had “never said no or stop or anything like that”,
“Did not fight me off”, “Did not bite me”, and that he “did not stop her breathing”.
He said nothing had been said about a tampon and that he was “shocked” by photos and that the allegations of rape were “not true”.
“I absolutely deny the allegation,” the statement, segments of which were read before the court by Gordon, said.
Gordon argued that the statement was a “direct response” to seeing the photos.
McGregor replied that being implicated in the case was a “very frightening experience” and that he wanted legal advice as he felt like his “life was on the line,” due to the accusations.
He said that the tampon “must have been” inserted after Hand says he raped her.
When Mr. Gordon argued that Nikita Hand had said that she would not have sexual intercourse while on her menstrual cycle, McGregor said, “likewise”.
McGregor’s evidence continues tomorrow.