This report contains details some readers may find distressing.

Conor McGregor’s civil trial is entering Day Three at the High Court in Dublin this morning.

The UFC fighter is being sued by a 35-year-old woman who claims he and another man raped her in a Dublin hotel six years ago.

Nikita Hand claims Mr McGregor got her into a stranglehold before she “subjected herself to what was about to happen” at the Beacon Hotel in December 2018.

Mr McGregor and the other man named in the suit - James Lawrence of Rafter’s Road in Drimnagh - deny raping her, claiming that everything that happened on the night was consensual.

Nikita Hand arrives at the Hight Court for her personal injuries case against Conor McGregor, 06-11-2024. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

Yesterday, Ms Hand gave the jury a detailed account of what she claims happened in the hotel – becoming visibly upset at times as she described the alleged attack.

The court was later shown CCTV from the hotel showing the Dublin woman interacting with several people in the hours afterwards – including images of her holding hands with Mr Lawrence and kissing him on the cheek.

Alleged attack

Ms Hand told the court that Mr McGregor pinned her on to a bed in the hotel, adding that she couldn’t breathe with his weight on top of her.

She noted that the more she struggled and tried to get away, the more he liked it.

She said she could only move her head and bit Mr McGregor, adding that he didn’t like that and flipped her around and held her by her neck.

She said he choked her three times, adding that he held the third chokehold for longer.

Ms Hand said the UFC fighter told her: “That’s how I felt when I was in the Octagon and I had to tap myself out three times”.

She said she thought she was going to die adding that she “just let him do whatever he needed to do so I could survive”.

UFC fighter Conor McGregor leaving the High Court where he is being sued by a woman who claims he raped her, 05-11-2024. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

Ms Hand said Mr McGregor then raped her, saying she felt “completely numb” during the alleged attack but adding that he had bruising on her legs, bottom and breast as well as a scrape on her chest after the incident.

She noted that she was wearing a tampon and did not have time to remove it before the incident.

After the alleged attack, she said she tried to get dressed but McGregor told her to lie down and fall asleep which she did.

Ms Hand said she later woke up in a “panic” and messaged her boyfriend. She said she told him she was having a great time as she didn’t want him to worry.

Evening

Ms Hand said Mr McGregor left the hotel with her friend that she had travelled there with and said things then began to come back to her about the attack, adding “it was like reality hitting”.

She said she remained at the hotel with Mr Lawrence and had food and drink with him, adding, “I didn’t want to go home and face reality”.

Hospital

Ms Hand said that, when she eventually returned home, she didn’t tell her partner the details of what had happened to her because she didn’t want to face it.

She went to her mother’s house and her mother called an ambulance and Gardaí.

She said she told the Gardaí that she did not want to press charges.

Nikita Ni Laimhin (Hand) arrives at the Hight Court for her personal injuries case against Conor McGregor, 06-11-2024. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

Later in the month, she tried to go to Gardaí to give a statement but did not go through with it.

She then made her statement to Gardaí in January.

In February, Gardaí invited her back in to make a second statement and told her that Mr Lawrence was claiming that she had consensual sex with him twice on the night.

She noted that she has “no memory of that at all”.

DPP directions

Later in the afternoon, the court heard details from two Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) letters to Ms Hand outlining why the DPP had decided not to pursue criminal charges against Mr McGregor.

The first letter noted that the Director assessed the case personally and decided there was not enough evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of prosecution.

The second letter said the DPP had carried out a review of the decision and decided it was correct.

It noted Mr Lawrence’s claim to have had consensual sex with Ms Hand after the alleged rape, the high amount of drugs and alcohol involved and the CCTV evidence showing her actions after the alleged attack.

It noted that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction for either man in a criminal trial.

Ms Hand said she was “really upset,” adding that she had not seen the CCTV footage at the time.

CCTV

After breaking for lunch, the court was shown CCTV footage from the Beacon Hotel on the day in question.

The footage shows the group arriving in a BMW saloon car and getting a lift to the penthouse suite.

After the alleged attack, Ms Hand is seen getting into the lift with Mr Lawrence with a drink in her hand. They are both barefoot.

As the CCTV was playing in court, Ms Hand commented, ‘I don’t remember any of this’.

Conor McGregor’s co-defendant James Lawrence arrives at the High Court in Dublin, 06-11-2024. Image: PA Images / Alamy

The pair are seen entering and leaving the lift several times over the next 45 minutes.

Ms Hand is seen kissing Mr Lawrence on the cheek twice and holding his hand.

Mr Lawrence can be seen putting his arm around Ms Hand and both are seen carrying drinks.

Later that night, they are seen getting in the lift again before crossing the hotel lobby and getting into a taxi to leave.

Ms Hand told the court several times that she does not remember any of what she had been shown on the CCTV.

The court was also shown text message conversations Ms Hand had with her partner on the night in question and a friend the following morning.