Why Does Conor McGregor Get a Comeback?

In November 2024, a Dublin High Court civil jury found ex-UFC fighter Conor McGregor legally liable for the sexual assault and rape of Nikita Hand. Twelve days into a trial that opened on November 5th, a jury of four men and eight women sided with Hand, a 35-year-old Dublin hair colourist who alleged McGregor "would not take no for an answer" in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel on December 9th, 2018. The jury awarded her €248,603.60 in general and special damages, along with €1.5 million in legal costs. Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions had already declined to bring criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence to secure a conviction, which is why the case proceeded as a civil matter rather than a criminal one. A technicality that let a wealthy man buy his way out of the criminal justice system. McGregor tried to overturn the verdict. In July 2025, Ireland's Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in its entirety, on all five grounds, and was reportedly scathing about…