Conor McGregor has said he was “beyond petrified” when he was being interviewed by gardaí (Irish police) about allegations he had raped a woman in a hotel room.

The Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter was cross-examined on why he replied “no comment” to hundreds of questions at Dundrum Garda Station in January 2019.

Nikita Hand is taking a civil court case against Mr MrGregor and his friend James Lawrence, seeking financial damages for alleged sex assaults.

The court has already heard that both Mr McGregor and his co-defendant Mr Lawrence, from Rafters Road in Drimnagh, Dublin, claim they had consensual sex with her.

Giving evidence for a second day on Thursday morning, Mr McGregor claimed Ms Hand had had sex with multiple different people, a multitude of times and that she had sex with “myself and James that I’m aware of”.

Asked under cross-examination by Ms Hand’s barrister, he said it was multiple people, “two people at least”.

Mr McGregor was then asked if he maintained that he did not cause the injuries that Ms Hand sustained, to which he replied: “For sure.”

The barrister asked him if he was suggesting someone else caused her injuries and whether Mr Lawrence had been “the patsy”.

“I don’t know,” Mr McGregor replied.

Asked if his friend Mr Lawrence had become “the fall guy” in the case, Mr McGregor replied, “how silly,” and asked Ms Hand’s barrister what he meant.

Mr McGregor was also asked if he had paid Mr Lawrence’s legal fees.

“I believe I did,” he said.

Later, when asked under cross-examination whether Ms Hand had been in fear, Mr McGregor said there had been “no sign of distress, fear, anything other than enjoyment, elations and excitement”.

Thursday’s cross-examination began with Mr McGregor being asked about a written statement he gave to gardaí at Dundrum Garda Station on 17 January 2019, ahead of an interview during which he gave “no comment” replies to questions.

The court was immediately adjourned for nearly an hour for legal arguments.

When proceedings resumed Mr McGregor said he had been “beyond petrified” during the garda interview, because it was the first time anything like that had happened to him.

He said he would have loved to “go to the top of a mountain with a microphone and shout it from the hilltops”.

However, he said he had taken legal advice because of the seriousness of the situation, had acted on that advice and the matter was out of his hands.

Ms Hand, a former hair colourist from Dublin, is seeking financial damages including loss of earnings for the distress she suffered as a result of the alleged sex attacks.

Giving evidence during earlier hearings, she claimed Mr McGregor placed her in a choke hold and choked her three times before raping her.

She told the jury that during the alleged attack she feared she would not see her young daughter again.

A paramedic who examined Ms Hand on the day after the alleged attacks told the court on Tuesday that she had not seen such bruising on a patient in a long time.

The case has already heard that Mr McGregor’s co-defendant, Mr Lawrence, had told gardaí he also had consensual sex with Ms Hand that day in the hotel.

Ms Hand told the court she did not remember this and it would be out of character for her to do so.

On Wednesday, the court heard DNA samples matching Mr McGregor’s profile were found on Ms Hand’s body, but Mr Lawrence’s DNA was not detected during tests.

In a Republic of Ireland civil action – as opposed to a criminal case – neither the complainant nor the accused are entitled to automatic anonymity during the court proceedings.