Conor McGregor visited AOJ this week, the Mendes brothers’ academy in Costa Mesa, California, bringing his son to train alongside Ace Mendes, son of multiple-time world champion Gui Mendes. Jiu-jitsu media pages such as BJJ Cria posted footage of the visit, and AOJ athlete Cole Abate shared photos with the Irishman. In the comments (most brazilian) followers welcomed the former UFC champion with messages like “legend” and “GOAT”. The reception was not unanimous, though: on the same posts, particularly Abate’s, part of the audience answered the tributes by bringing up the fighter’s court record.
McGregor, today a BJJ black belt, also carries a court record spanning the past eight years. Below is each case, with its exact outcome.
The Nikita Hand Case in Ireland’s Courts
In November 2024, a Dublin High Court civil jury concluded, in a lawsuit brought by Irishwoman Nikita Hand, that McGregor raped her in a hotel room in December 2018, awarding roughly 248,000 euros in damages. The fighter appealed twice. Ireland’s Court of Appeal unanimously rejected every ground of his appeal in July 2025, and in December 2025 the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, closing it for good. The jury’s finding stands, with no appeal left in Ireland.
The liability is civil. Irish prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges over the episode, and it was Hand who took the case to court. McGregor denied the allegation at every stage, said the encounter was consensual, and called the verdict unjust.
The Criminal Assault Conviction in Dublin
In April 2019, at a Dublin pub, McGregor punched a patron in the face after the man declined a shot of the fighter’s whiskey brand. He pleaded guilty, was convicted of assault, and paid a 1,000 euro fine plus undisclosed compensation to the victim.
In 2018, during UFC 223 fight week in New York, McGregor attacked a bus carrying event fighters with a hand truck, injuring two athletes. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and settled for community service.
The Allegations That Were Dropped or Dismissed
Two other sexual assault cases never advanced past the allegation stage. In Corsica in 2020, a woman accused the fighter of attempted sexual assault, and prosecutors in Bastia dropped the case in 2021 for lack of physical evidence. In Miami in 2023, a business executive accused him of sexually assaulting her in an arena bathroom during the NBA Finals. Florida prosecutors filed no charges, and the plaintiff later dismissed her own civil suit with prejudice. McGregor denied both accusations.
Editorial Note
This article relies exclusively on public court decisions and international press coverage, linked throughout. BJJ Girls Mag notes that Conor McGregor denies all sexual assault allegations described here, that the finding in the Nikita Hand case is civil rather than criminal, and that where cases were dropped or dismissed, the outcome is stated in the text.