Conor McGregor’s attempt to overturn a civil jury verdict holding him liable for assault in a sexual assault case brought by Dublin woman Nikita Hand has been unsuccessful. The Dublin Court of Appeal dismissed all five grounds of his appeal, confirming the jury’s original decision from November.

Ms. Hand, 35, filed a civil suit against McGregor concerning an incident in December 2018. She accused him of violently raping and assaulting her in a hotel penthouse in south Dublin. McGregor denied the accusation, claiming the sexual encounter was consensual. Nevertheless, the jury ruled that he was legally responsible for assault and awarded Ms. Hand damages amounting to €248,603.60. McGregor was also ordered to cover roughly €1.3 million in legal fees.

Part of the appeal included a statement from Samantha O’Reilly, a former neighbor of Ms. Hand, who said she saw a physical altercation between Ms. Hand and her partner around the time of the alleged incident. However, McGregor’s legal team withdrew this evidence earlier this month and chose not to rely on it.

The rest of the appeal focused mainly on procedural issues, such as whether McGregor’s “no comment” responses during Garda questioning should have been allowed in the civil trial. The three judges — Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr Justice Brian O’Moore, and Mr Justice Patrick MacGrath — found no basis to accept these claims.

On Thursday, Mr Justice O’Moore announced the decision, stating, “I therefore dismiss the appeal in its entirety.”

James Lawrence, McGregor’s co-defendant who was found not guilty by the jury, also lost his separate appeal. He requested the court to order Ms. Hand to pay his legal costs since she did not succeed in her claims against him, but the Court of Appeal upheld the previous ruling that Ms. Hand would not be liable for his expenses.

Ms. Hand, also known by her Irish name Nikita Ní Laimhín, was present in court and was embraced by supporters after the verdict. McGregor and Lawrence did not attend the hearing.