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Niall Carson\/PA Wire<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nConor McGregor has said he was “beyond petrified” when he was being interviewed by garda\u00ed (Irish police) about allegations he had raped a woman in a hotel room. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Nikita Hand is taking a civil court case against Mr MrGregor and his friend James Lawrence, seeking financial damages for alleged sex assaults.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n 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”.<\/p>\n Asked under cross-examination by Ms Hand’s barrister, he said it was multiple people, “two people at least”. <\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n The barrister asked him if he was suggesting someone else caused her injuries and whether Mr Lawrence had been “the patsy”.<\/p>\n “I don’t know,” Mr McGregor replied. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Mr McGregor was also asked if he had paid Mr Lawrence’s legal fees.<\/p>\n “I believe I did,” he said. <\/p>\n 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”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thursday’s cross-examination began with Mr McGregor being asked about a written statement he gave to garda\u00ed at Dundrum Garda Station on 17 January 2019, ahead of an interview during which he gave “no comment” replies to questions. <\/p>\n The court was immediately adjourned for nearly an hour for legal arguments.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He said he would have loved to “go to the top of a mountain with a microphone and shout it from the hilltops”.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n 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. <\/p>\n Giving evidence during earlier hearings, she claimed Mr McGregor placed her in a choke hold and choked her three times before raping her. <\/p>\n She told the jury that during the alleged attack she feared she would not see her young daughter again.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The case has already heard that Mr McGregor’s co-defendant, Mr Lawrence, had told garda\u00ed he also had consensual sex with Ms Hand that day in the hotel.<\/p>\n Ms Hand told the court she did not remember this and it would be out of character for her to do so.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Niall Carson\/PA Wire<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n