CONOR MCGREGOR took aim at Jake Paul just hours after being found liable for committing assault.
The UFC’s poster boy was found to have assaulted a woman – Nikita Hand – at a Dublin hotel in December 2018 following a civil trial.
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McGregor was accused of “brutally raping and battering” Nikita Hand at the Beacon Hotel in south Dublin but insisted they had consensual sex.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, who has been involved in a war of words with McGregor for nearly four years, took to X in a now-deleted post to give his thoughts.
He wrote: “Dana [White] hits his wife, Conor’s convicted of rape, but I’m the bad guy?”
And astonishingly just a few hours after hearing the jury’s verdict, McGregor replied: “No, you’re a little gay nerd.”
Paul’s inclusion of UFC supremo Dana White in his dig at McGregor was in reference to a video of the MMA mogul slapping his wife, Anne, following a heated argument at a nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
White apologised profusely for his actions and said: “You don’t bounce back from this. You don’t ever bounce back from this.
“For the rest of my life, like I said – however long that is – people are going to label me that.”
McGregor, 36, has been ordered to Ms Hand £206,000 (€250,000) in damages.
Does Conor McGregor have any chance of continuing UFC career?
FORMER UFC champion Conor McGregor did assault a woman who accused him of raping her in a Dublin hotel, a civil court jury found on Friday.
The 36-year-old was accused of “brutally raping and battering” Nikita Hand in December 2018.
He will now have to pay Ms Hand 248,603.60 euros in damages.
Despite losing his case, McGregor has vowed to appeal.
The Irishman’s future in MMA and UFC is now in doubt. He hasn’t been in the octagon since July 2021 when he broke his leg and was stopped against Dustin Poirier.
Here’s what SunSport’s chief MMA reporter Chisanga Malata had to say about the situation…
“The ruling, which came in a civil court, not a criminal court, has given the UFC arguably its biggest-ever headache in its 31-year run. MMA chiefs will now have to make a major decision over their poster boy.
“Personally, I think he fights again. There is a precedent for it. Just look at the man who fought Jake Paul last week.
“Of course, I’m talking about former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who was sent to jail in the 1990s for rape. He came out and he had a successful career after that, making millions upon millions of pounds before retiring in 2005.
“Sadly, there is a precedent for it. But the UFC now has a massive decision to make. As I said, I think he fights again. I think they stick to the plan that was announced last week at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference and they have him fight late 2025.
“Perhaps they said late 2025 in anticipation of this ruling not going McGregor’s way and giving some time for this to blow over – even though something of this magnitude can never, ever blow over.
“I believe McGregor will fight again barring a sensational decision from Dana White and all the investors and they axe their poster boy. But I just don’t see that happening and I do see him returning to the octagon late next year.
“Questions will have to be asked of the UFC and rightly so. But more so of the man himself, Mr McGregor.”
But the former two-division champion has vowed to appeal the verdict.
He wrote on X: “I will be appealing today’s decision.
“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.”
McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the UFC octagon since breaking his leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier over three years ago.
