A woman who has accused Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor of raping her has told a court she thought she would never see her young daughter again when the MMA star ‘strangled’ her.
Nikita Ni Laimhin, also known as Nikita Hand, is seeking civil damages against McGregor and another man, alleging she was sexually assaulted in December 2018.
Ms Ni Laimhin has accused Mr McGregor of pinning her to a bed and raping her in a Dublin hotel.
On her second day as a witness at the High Court in Dublin, she said that as she was attacked she ‘froze and could not move or breathe’.
Ms. Ni Laimhin broke down several times while giving evidence and seeking some breaks.
Conor McGregor outside the High Court in Dublin on November 6
Prosecutor Nikita Ni Laimhin (pictured) outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 6
Co-accused of mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, James Lawrence, arrives at the High Court in Dublin on November 6
The court heard that Ms Ni Laimhin had to quit her job as a hairdresser and could no longer work because, due to her mental health, she ended her relationship with her partner months after the alleged incident, had to leave her home in Drimnagh, and her mortgage has now payment arrears.
She also told the court that she no longer had to go to a counselor because she could no longer afford the hearings.
The court also heard that she spent more than €4,000 on GP, pharmacy and psychotherapist costs.
The mother-of-one was left with extensive bruising and abrasions across her body, including purple and blue bruises along her hands and wrists, a bloody scratch on her chest and tenderness in her neck after being placed in a chokehold. by Mr McGregor, the court was told.
The court previously heard that McGregor’s lawyers will say what happened between him and Ms Ni Laimhin – who is not automatically entitled to anonymity – took place consensual.
Ms Ni Laimhin had been at the hotel in December 2018 with Mr McGregor, second defendant James Lawrence, her boyfriend and several of the MMA star’s security guards.
Nikita Ni Laimhin, also known as Nikita Hand, at the High Court in Dublin on November 6
Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor with his father Tony McGregor (left)
Conor McGregor was seen in court on Tuesday on a civil assault claim arising from an alleged rape in a Dublin hotel in 2018
Nikita Ni Laimhin (centre) outside the High Court in Dublin on Tuesday, where Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor appears for a personal injury case against him
A spokesperson for McGregor claimed at the time that it was a ‘rumour’ and ‘absolutely untrue’.
The woman who made the claim said the incident took place at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin
Nikita Ni Laimhin (left) outside the High Court in Dublin on Tuesday, where Mixed Martial Arts fighter Conor McGregor appears for a personal injury case against him
In response to questions from John Gordon SC, her lawyer, Ms Ni Laimhin said she was ‘disappointed and angry’ that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had decided not to prosecute both defendants after she filed a complaint with the Irish Police.
In a letter sent to Ms Ni Laimhin in August 2020, the DPP said there was ‘insufficient evidence’ and there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.
Ms Ni Laimhin asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was treated differently because one of the suspects was a famous person.
On the second day of her testimony, Ms Ni Laimhin struggled as she described how Mr McGregor pinned her to the bed in the hotel and pressed his entire body weight on her.
Visibly shaking, she apologized to the court and said she was upset.
She said Mr McGregor’s body weight was on top of her and she could not breathe.
She said she raised both hands and tried to get away from him, but the more she struggled, the more he seemed to like it.
“I’m doing my best, I’m really sorry,” she told the court.
The former UFC champion arrives at the Supreme Court on Tuesday
The proceedings are expected to last two weeks and the judge has asked the jury to make themselves available for three weeks
‘The only thing I could move was my head. I bit him, but I can’t remember where. He didn’t like it, so he turned me around, put his arm around my neck and strangled me.’
She added: “I’m really struggling with this. I’m sorry.’
After a break, she told the court she had been standing against the bed and Mr McGregor had tried to approach her.
She said she told him she “wasn’t for that.”
“He pinned me to the bed and I held my hands to my chest and he put his whole body weight on me and I couldn’t breathe,” she said.
‘The only thing I could move was my head and I bit him and tried my best to get away from him. I tried to push him, wiggle him and do whatever I could.
‘I remember biting really hard and his arms were around me, choking me.
“I tried to fight as much as I could. He put his arm around my neck and choked me three times.
“I just froze and I couldn’t move or breathe, and I kept looking at the bedpost and thinking about my daughter.
‘I kept thinking I was going to die and not see my daughter again.
‘He let me go and I remember regretting it because I felt like I had done something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again doing.
“Then he said that’s how he felt when he was in the Octagon and had to tap out three times. I thought it was such a strange thing to say.
‘I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.
“Then I just let him do what he had to do so I could survive. My mind was completely gone and I was no longer myself.
Nikita Ni Laimhin is seeking civil damages against Mr McGregor and another man
McGregor has been in a relationship with Dee Devlin since 2008. They have four children
Conor McGregor (second from right) with his father Tony McGregor (second from left) outside the High Court in Dublin on November 6
‘He was very aggressive and would pull my clothes and push my head down to do things, but I kept pulling my head back.
‘He tried to push my head towards his penis, but I pushed my head back.
‘He pulled my clothes down. He then raped me. I felt like it had been going on for ages.”
She paused to add, “I find it very difficult. I’m sorry.’
Ms. Ni Laimhin continued, “Then it was over. It was done.
‘When he raped me, I was completely numb. I felt nothing. I completely froze.’
She said she fell asleep on the bed in the hotel room and woke up later.
She said the group all left the hotel room, while Mr McGregor left with her boyfriend, but she returned to the room with Mr Lawrence, where she saw the bruises on her body and collapsed.
She told the court she told Lawrence: “You’re all turning a blind eye to what Conor is doing to women.”
She showed him the bruises on her body, to which she claims he said: ‘I can’t believe you were in that room and I was here while that happened to you.’
Ms Ni Laimhin said she was shocked to hear that Mr Lawrence had claimed they had consensual sex in the hotel room.
She told the court she thought he was kind to her and cared for her.
The case continues.