Conor McGregor denied in a Dublin court on Wednesday that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2018, saying a civil case brought against him and another man was “full of lies.”
The woman alleges that McGregor sexually assaulted her on Dec. 9, 2018, and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same, the court heard last week.
McGregor, 36, told the court that he had “fully consensual sex” with the woman and that he did not force anyone to do anything against their will. He was taking the stand for the first time on the sixth day of the trial.
“Your client is full of lies. Everything is a lie,” the former UFC champion said after being asked by the woman’s lawyer about her testimony that he put her in an armlock.
McGregor also denied causing bruising to the woman. Her lawyer accused McGregor of pressing down so hard on her watch that there was still a mark on her skin days later.
The woman’s lawyer said last week that when she was referred to a sexual assault treatment unit the day after the alleged assault, a doctor was so concerned that he directed that photographs be taken of her injuries.
She said she and a friend made contact with McGregor, whom she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed.
The woman said McGregor took her to a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Her lawyer, John Gordon, said the woman was on antidepressants and “full of drugs” at the time of the alleged assault.
“I tried to talk him around, that I didn’t want to have sex and wasn’t there for anything like that,” the woman testified last week. “He just wasn’t taking no for an answer.”
She filed civil action against McGregor in 2021.
The judge told the jury of eight women and four men that the trial is expected to last two weeks.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.