Conor McGregor admits to using cocaine on night of alleged rape incident

Conor McGregor has confessed to using cocaine on the night he is accused of raping a Dublin woman.

In court on Thursday, the Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter replied "correct" when John Gordon SC stated he had cocaine in his car along with the alleged victim and another witness, News.Az reports, citing BBC.

The court also heard Mr McGregor answered "no comment" to over 100 questions in his first police interview and said he did so under advice of his lawyer because he was in a state of "shock and fear".

Dublin woman Nikita Hand has accused the sportsman of rape after a Christmas night out in December 2018. He denies all allegations.

The trial is a civil case in Dublin High Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions in Ireland refused to charge Mr McGregor criminally.

The interview, held in January 2019, saw Mr McGregor attend Dundrum Garda Station attend an interview with his solicitor and handed over a prepared written statement.

After this, Mr McGregor said "no comment" to such questions as if he and Nikita Hand were from the same area of Crumlin in Dublin.

The judge reminded the eight women and four men of the jury that no inference can be made by Mr McGregor's refusal to comment. It is his legal right.

Mr McGregor said the statement was "to the point" when it was put to him it was "short".

"I would have loved to go to a top of the mountain with a microphone and shout from the hilltops but because of the seriousness of the allegation I went to my lawyer and I took their advice," he said.

Mr McGregor also said he had been "beyond petrified" during the garda interview, because it was the first time anything like that had happened to him.

"I feel I was as good, as cooperative, I took their advice, I put myself in their hands, this is alien to me, it's the first time anything like that has ever happened to me in my life."

Later Mr McGregor added: "These allegations are false, I'm here to say my piece and my truth, these allegations are lies, they're false."

Mr McGregor claims Nikita Hand had consensual sex with him twice. He also claimed in court that Hand had sex with his associate and co-defendant James Lawrence. Nikita Hand says she never had sex with Mr Lawrence.

News.Az