Hand had said McGregor put her in a chokehold “several times” during their 2018 encounter, and told her amid her struggles, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped three times,” referring to a loss he experienced during the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The hair colorist – who is mother to a daughter – explained that she feared for her life when McGregor had intercourse with her.

“He let me go and I remember saying I was sorry,” Hand said in her testimony, according to the Associated Press. “I felt like I had done something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again.”

For his part, McGregor, who was supported by a partner Dee Devlinwhom he has been with since 2008, amid the lawsuit – said in his own testimony that Hand’s statement was “a lie” and described the intercourse as “athletic” and “powerful” but not rough, adding : ‘She never said ‘no’ or stopped.”

This isn’t the first time McGregor has faced legal trouble on allegations of sexual abuse. In 2023, a woman accused the MMA fighter of attacking her in the bathroom of a Miami Heat game during the NBA Finals. The Miami District Attorney’s Office later announced that no criminal charges would be filed regarding the allegation, citing insufficient evidence.