In November 2024, a Dublin High Court civil jury found ex-UFC fighter Conor McGregor legally liable for the sexual assault and rape of Nikita Hand. Twelve days into a trial that opened on November 5th, a jury of four men and eight women sided with Hand, a 35-year-old Dublin hair colourist who alleged McGregor "would not take no for an answer" in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel on December 9th, 2018. The jury awarded her €248,603.60 in general and special damages, along with €1.5 million in legal costs. Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions had already declined to bring criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence to secure a conviction, which is why the case proceeded as a civil matter rather than a criminal one. A technicality that let a wealthy man buy his way out of the criminal justice system.

McGregor tried to overturn the verdict. In July 2025, Ireland's Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in its entirety, on all five grounds, and was reportedly scathing about "fresh evidence." In December 2025, the Supreme Court refused to hear a further appeal, finding no issue of general public importance. Hand won at trial, was vindicated on appeal, and outlasted McGregor's attempt to reopen the case.

McGregor hasn't fought in the UFC in five years, since his appearance at UFC 264 on July 10, 2021, losing to Dustin Poirier via first-round TKO after suffering a broken leg. His only loss since he stopped Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in January 2020. A scheduled return against Michael Chandler fell through last year when he withdrew from the bout, citing injury. The New York Times reported that McGregor sought a therapeutic-use exemption to use performance-enhancing drugs during his recovery, was denied it, withdrew from USADA's testing pool for two years anyway, and kept using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone well after the leg had healed.

In the five years since, McGregor was dropped by Proper No. Twelve, the Irish whiskey brand he co-founded. Proximo confirmed it would no longer use his "name and likeness" in marketing, and retailers across Ireland and the UK pulled the bottles from shelves. He starred in the mediocre action remake Road House, where reviewers singled him out as one of the worst athlete-to-actor performances in memory, and by most accounts derailed his own SXSW premiere Q&A by talking over Jake Gyllenhaal. He also acted erratically in several promotional interviews while promoting the film, visibly twitchy and unsteady in a Sports Illustrated sit-down that had fans and industry figures speculating about drug use, including potential cocaine use—something he's previously admitted to.

And tonight, on July 11th 2026, McGregor is fighting Max Holloway in a welterweight (170 lbs) rematch at UFC 329 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Why exactly would a man found liable for rape in civil court not only return to his sport, but be the main event headliner of the night? To answer that, we need to take a step back.

Flag Day

June 14th arrived on the South Lawn of the White House with a flyover. Blue Angels and Thunderbirds cut low over the Ellipse while a Marine Band worked through fighter walkout music, and the U.S. Army's 250th birthday folded itself into Donald Trump's 80th birthday. Under a flying-saucer-shaped steel canopy fans had taken to calling "the claw," seven fights unfolded on a stage that cost, by one lawsuit's estimate, over $60 million to build. (Of course, National Park Service had no authority to hand a private sporting promotion the White House lawn.) Zac Brown sang the anthem. Justin Gaethje, a 350-to-1 underdog by some books, backflipped off the top of the cage after knocking out Ilia Topuria to unify the lightweight title, then knelt beside Trump for a courtside chat before draping an American flag over one shoulder and the belt over the other. Trump climbed into the Octagon himself to congratulate him. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Paramount Skydance's David Ellison were somewhere in the 4,000-plus crowd. Called UFC Freedom 250—America's semiquincentennial—it was, as Dana White put it afterward, something he'd asked Trump to give him a year to recover from financially before doing again.

It goes without saying that no sitting president had ever celebrated a birthday with a cage match on his own front lawn.

The Politics of UFC

I wrote a few months ago how mixed-martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are the only sports I spectate regularly. While the sport itself is compelling, it needs to be addressed how the promotion company UFC, run by Dana White, has become increasingly—and dreadfully—politicized over time.

Perhaps there's an argument that can be made the sport is inherently right-wing, how the extreme individual accountability and physical dominance of combat sports means that hyper-individualism naturally resonates with conservative values of self-reliance and meritocracy.

Really though, the UFC's right-wing identity stems from its leadership's close ties to Donald Trump and an active organizational push to market itself as an anti-"woke" haven that rejects modern politically correct norms.

UFC CEO Dana White has a long-standing friendship with Donald Trump, one that traces back to 2001, when White ran his very first fight card at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. White has since spoken at the Republican National Convention twice, in 2016 and again in 2024, the latter as the final speaker before Trump accepted the nomination, days after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. White has described the friendship as "really close" and says the two mostly avoid talking politics at all. The President frequently attends high-profile UFC events, and the promotion has featured his appearances heavily, walking out to the cage alongside White before pay-per-views for years.

I bring this up because the political climate of the UFC is precisely why a man who has been found liable for rape in civil court has been welcomed back to his job with open arms.

What Kind of Culture is This?

This is a culture that is callous and apathetic towards accusations made by women towards men, a culture that normalizes the amnesia of crimes, a culture that rewards the indignant who are arrogant enough to not step away, but continue despite the destruction and harm in their wake. This is rape culture.

But this is no surprise, is it? The president of the United States has faced at least 28 public accusations of sexual misconduct since the 1970s, including multiple allegations of rape. There have been prominent civil lawsuits and criminal inquiries which have led to no justice.

And maybe the term "rape culture" has been replaced by something more precise, the "Epstein class." The entrenched, transnational network of powerful billionaires, politicians, and celebrities who operate with a dark sludge of impunity, totally insulated from the legal and social consequences faced by everyone else in the general public.

McGregor is just a notable, recent example of something that has been going on for a long time, and continues to become more normalized. The awareness is there, it just doesn't move anything. When McGregor sat on Jimmy Fallon's couch on June 16th, reminiscing about old nights out drinking together, the backlash was immediate, as Christina Ricci called him "a piece of human garbage" and told Fallon he should be ashamed, Pink amplified the criticism, and Nikita Hand herself publicly welcomed it. None of this mattered to the machine. CBS Sports ran him through a standard comeback interview about rediscovering his love of the sport. The sportsbook 1xBet named him a global brand ambassador. In Ireland, a poll for the Irish Independent found 7% of the public would vote for him for president. In March 2025 he was standing in the Oval Office anyway, in a green pinstriped suit, telling Trump that immigration was "ravaging" Ireland while the Taoiseach hadn't even received his own traditional St. Patrick's Day invite yet.

It seems no amount of public awareness has shifted anything. It is deeply disturbing that no amount of evidence has changed or disrupted American public life. The status quo has been maintained. Are people too exhausted? Too cynical? Too numb? It is difficult to reckon with a world that manages to continue in spite of the horrors we know definitely exist in every corner.

McGregor is a man that has not redeemed himself in the eyes of critics and fans, though he has openly sought personal and spiritual redemption. Ahead of his UFC return, McGregor spoke publicly about relying on his Catholic faith and forgiving himself for past controversies, telling reporters at UFC 329 media day that he trusts God and that "anything done in darkness will soon come to light." He has admitted to "disgracing the position" he was in but vowed to move forward in a more positive direction, insisting through it all that he remains, in his own words, "an innocent man."

While I can write this article, and try to echo the already publicly-known crimes people with power and clout get away with, it certainly won't bring justice or peace to any of the victims and survivors. I can only apologize that we keep failing you, over and over, in such engulfing, embarrassing ways.