'Devious coward': Conor McGregor breaks silence after civil jury finds him liable for sexual assault

Conor McGregor has vowed to appeal after a civil jury in Ireland found the mixed martial arts fighter sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying.

The Dublin jury awarded the woman around $400,000 for her lawsuit that claimed McGregor "brutally raped and battered" her December 9, 2018, leaving her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that the woman had fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex.

READ MORE: Souths halfback on the move as Bennett eyes enforcer

READ MORE: 'Big problem' laid bare after Smith's horror start

READ MORE: Aussie duo stun legends with 'unbelievable' moment

The woman's lawyer said she never pretended to be a saint and had gone out looking for a good time that ended up turning into a nightmare.

Attorney John Gordon said McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.

"He's not a man, he's a coward," Gordon told jurors. "A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is."

The disgraced MMA star did not comment as he left the courthouse, but has since broken his silence on X.

"I will be appealing today's decision," he wrote.

"The judge's instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages.

"I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed.

"I am with my family now, focused on my future. Thank you to all my support worldwide."

The woman lost her case against another man, James Lawrence, who she accused of assaulting her by allegedly having sex without her consent at the same hotel.

It took six hours and 10 minutes of deliberating from a jury of eight women and four before to reach the verdict.

McGregor sat in the back row of the court, between his partner and mother and shook his head after the jury read out its decision.

The woman had to take several breaks in her emotional testimony as she said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter.

McGregor put her in a choke hold several times and later told her, "now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times," referring to McGregor's loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov via fourth-round submission on Oct. 8, 2018 at UFC 229, she said.

She feared she would die and never see her daughter again.

"He let me go and I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn't tell anyone so he wouldn't hurt me again," she said.

She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.

Police investigated the woman's complaint, but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.

McGregor said the two had sex that was athletic and vigorous, but not rough. He said "she never said 'no' or stopped" and testified that everything she said was a lie.

"It is a full blown lie among many lies," he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. "How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings."

McGregor's lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.

"You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise," attorney Remy Farrell said. "I'm not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch."

The defence said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor's arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked "happy, happy, happy."

McGregor said that when he was first questioned by police, he read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions.

Readers seeking support can contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or the National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service on 1800 211 028.