Conor McGregor addressed his recent civil sexual assault verdict head-on at the UFC 329 pre-fight news conference in Las Vegas, maintaining his innocence days before his return to the cage.
In November 2024, a jury found McGregor liable for sexual assault against Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel room in 2018, ordering him to pay $260,000 after two weeks of hearings. His appeal of the decision was denied in July 2025, while the jury did not find co-defendant James Lawrence liable for sexual assault.
"I'm an innocent man, and I'll stand for my innocence until the day I go out," McGregor said when asked about the verdict. He added, "That is still a situation where I fight. There's a reason where it didn't go where it went and went to a civil trial. It is what it is. It stings deep. I continue to fight. I know the truth, and I know that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. I know anything done in darkness will soon come to light, and I trust in God that it's coming. You best believe it's coming. I look very, very forward to the day."
During the trial, McGregor admitted to alcohol and cocaine use around the time of the incident and said he has since cleaned up through faith and a renewed relationship with religion. Paramedic Eithne Scully testified that the scene in the ambulance with Hand after the incident was one of the worst she had been on.
McGregor has not competed in combat sports since July 2021, when he broke his leg in a bout against Dustin Poirier. He is scheduled to face Max Holloway in a five-round welterweight bout at UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena.
