Conor McGregor has appeared to respond to Jake Paul in a now-deleted social media post after the YouTube boxer took aim at the Irishman on the back of his sexual assault verdict.
McGregor, 36, faced an accusation that he ‘brutally raped and battered’ Nikita Hand, 35, at a hotel in south Dublin in December 2018.
The MMA fighter previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, at the Beacon Hotel. He denied causing bruising to the plaintiff.
And he has now vowed to appeal the decision – saying he was ‘disappointed’ and ‘focused on my future’. He was told he must pay the woman who accused him of raping her in a hotel six years ago €250,000 (£207,805).
Following the verdict, Paul took aim at his rival, and also UFC president Dana White, on social media, posting: ‘Dan hits his wife. Conor’s convicted of rape. But I’m the bad guy?’
McGregor, meanwhile, after breaking his silence on the verdict, appeared to hit back at Paul on social media platform X, replying: ‘No you’re a gay little nerd,’ accompanied by a laughing emoji.
Conor McGregor has hit back at Jake Paul on the back of Irishman’s sexual assault verdict
McGregor faced an accusation that he ‘brutally raped and battered’ Nikita Hand in 2018
Paul questioned why he is the ‘bad guy’ after writing online that ‘Conor’s convicted of rape’
Paul later added: ‘Calling someone gay and thinking you are hitting them with a zinger shows how cooked Conor’s brain is from all the coke. Shout out to all the nerds.’
The rivalry between Paul and McGregor goes back years, and, in July, after Paul had knocked out Mike Perry, McGregor described the YouTube star as the ‘biggest p***bag I have ever seen in my life’.
The Irishman added: ’40 pound weight difference, juiced out of his head, and still s***ting himself in there. Nakisa you should take him to Vegas oh that’s right you could never, the athletic commission testing, real testing, real fighting.
‘B***h a**es. You could never. And then calling out 60-year-old Mike Tyson fresh off an in flight medical emergency? I swear to god, a fat can of b***h p***. Most valuable p***bag.’
The pair have not been fond of each other for a while now, with Paul making it clear that he fancies a shot at McGregor.Â
After Paul beat Mike Tyson last week, McGregor posted online: ‘A 16 minute spar in sparring gloves. F*** off.’
McGregor later deleted the tweet but that did not prevent Paul from responding via the same platform.
Paul hit back: ‘Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs. That’s never happening.
‘But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t.’
Paul went onto respond to McGregor’s words again on his own X profile on Friday night
McGregor vowed to appeal the decision – saying he was ‘disappointed’ with the verdict
The MMA fighter previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand (not pictured)
He also referenced UFC president Dana White, who was caught hitting his wife on camera
Breaking his silence on Friday afternoon, McGregor said: ‘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.’
After deliberating for six hours and 10 minutes, the jury returned with their verdicts in the trial this afternoon, and awarded Ms Hand nearly €250,000.
McGregor shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable of assaulting Ms Hand.
Ms Hand cried and was hugged by her partner and supporters as the verdict was delivered.
Outside the court, she described the last two weeks as a ‘nightmare’ but said she felt vindicated.
In 2023, meanwhile, a video surfaced of White hitting his wife twice in a nightclub in on New Year’s Eve.
He apologised for his behaviour, adding that there was alcohol involved but that ‘there’s no excuse’.
Like McGregor, he too has been involved in an ongoing rivalry with influencer Paul.Â