A woman who accused Irish martial artist Conor McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel has won her damages claim against him in a civil case in the High Court.

The jury in the civil case against McGregor returned its verdict on Friday afternoon.

The total amount of damages awarded to Nikita Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euros.

McGregor had faced an allegation that he “brutally raped and assaulted” Ms Hand in a south Dublin hotel in December 2018.

The Irish sports star previously told the court he had sex with Ms Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel.

Ms Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, lost her case against another man, James Lawrence, who she accused of assaulting her by having sex without her consent in the same hotel.

After eight days of evidence and three days of hearing closing arguments and the judge’s charge, the jury of eight women and four men spent six hours and 10 minutes deliberating before returning with their verdict.

McGregor shook his head after the jury read out that Ms Hand had won her case against him.

McGregor was accompanied by his family, including his partner Dee Devlin, parents, sister and brother-in-law.

He sat in the back row of the court, between his partner and mother, Margaret.

Ms Hand, 35, cried and was hugged by her partner and supporters.

A number of police officers were in the courtroom when the verdict was handed down.

The case, which opened on November 5, had previously heard that on the day of the attack, Ms Hand and her work colleague Danielle Kealy went to the penthouse suite with McGregor and Mr Lawrence after their work Christmas party.

They had testified how they had partied all night from December 8 into the morning of December 9 and had been drinking heavily and taking cocaine.

Ms Hand, a mother-of-one, told the court how McGregor had pinned her to the bed in the hotel bedroom before assaulting her.

During her evidence to the court, Ms Hand said she thought she would never see her young daughter again when the MMA star “choked” her.

The court heard that when she was attacked she “froze and couldn’t move or breathe”.

She said she had held up both hands and tried to get away from him, but said the more she struggled, the more he seemed to like it.

“The only thing I could move was my head. I bit him but I don’t remember where. He didn’t like it, so he turned me around and put his arm around my neck and choked me,” she said.

Ms Hand 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 soreness in her neck after she said she was placed in a “choke hold” by Mr McGregor.

McGregor denied causing the bruises across her body, saying they could have been caused when she “swan dived” into the bath in the hotel room.

The court heard how Ms Hand suffered serious physical and psychological injuries as a result of the attack by McGregor and that she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Ms Hand was taken the next day by ambulance to Rotunda Hospital where she was assessed in the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU).

A paramedic, who examined Ms Hand the day after the assault, had told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” for a long time.

Ms Hand had also been concerned about a tampon she had been wearing on the night she was assaulted.

Dr Daniel Kane, who works as a gynecologist and forensic pathologist in sexual assault cases, explained how he had to use tweezers to remove the tampon which had become “dressed”.

Ms Hand broke down several times as she testified for almost three days and sought a number of breaks.

The jury had been told how Ms Hand had to leave her job as a hairdresser and has not been able to work since due to her mental health, that her relationship with her partner ended months after the incident, she had to move from her home in Drimnagh, and her mortgage is now in arrears.

She also said she had to stop seeing a counselor because she could no longer afford to pay for the sessions.

The court also heard that she has spent more than €4,000 on GP, ​​pharmacy and psychotherapist costs.