Woman claims Conor McGregor choked her before rape

A woman who has accused Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor of raping her has told a court he choked her three times and she thought she was going to die.

Nikita Hand has taken civil action against Mr McGregor and another man, seeking damages for an alleged sex attack in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

Mr McGregor denies the allegations and his lawyers told an earlier hearing in the case that Ms Hand is attempting extortion.

In 2020, Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to criminally prosecute either man due to a lack of evidence and no reasonable prospect of conviction.

In a Republic of Ireland civil action as opposed to a criminal case, neither the complainant nor the two accused men are entitled to anonymity during the court proceedings.

As she gave evidence on Wednesday, Ms Hand was visibly shaking and distressed and the court had to be adjourned repeatedly so she could have a break.

The former hair colourist outlined her recollections of the alleged attack, which began after a Christmas night out with work colleagues on 8 December 2018.

Ms Hand had been drinking and admitted that she had taken some cocaine when she contacted Mr McGregor that night.

She said Mr McGregor collected her and a friend from the salon in a chauffeured car to go to another party.

Ms Hand then went to a penthouse suite in the Beacon Hotel with a group of people who included Mr McGregor and his security team.

Ms Hand told the court that she said to Mr McGregor that she was not there for sex - that she had a boyfriend and she knew his partner.

But she claimed that McGregor placed her in a chokehold on the hotel bed and choked her three times.

"He pinned me down on the bed, I held my hands to my chest, he put his body weight on top of me," she said.

Ms Hand said she could not breathe and was struggling to free herself from his grip.

"The only thing I could move was my head, so the only defence was to bite him," she said.

"I bit him, I know I bit him. He didn't like it. So he flipped around and had me by the neck and shoulders."

Ms Hand alleged that at this stage she froze.

"I couldn't move, I was staring at the bed post thinking about my daughter, thinking I was gonna die," she said.

"I thought I'd never see my daughter again."

After this, she alleged that Mr McGregor let her go and she apologised to him to "reassure" him so that "he wouldn't hurt me again".

Ms Hand said that McGregor said: "'That's how I felt in the octagon and I had to tap myself out three times'.

She added: "I thought it was such a weird thing to say. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone anything.

"I just let him do whatever he need to do, so I could survive, I wasn't myself anymore."

After this, Ms Hand alleges the MMA fighter pulled off her clothes and raped her.

In the time since the alleged attack, the court heard Ms Hand has been unable to work due to mental health issues and is living on disability allowance.

Her relationship with her boyfriend has ended and her mortgage is in arrears.

She had psychotherapy but can no longer afford the treatment, the court was told.

The case continues.