A professional cage fighter accused of punching, kicking and choking his teenage girlfriend has told a court if he wanted to hurt her she would have been in hospital.
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Daniel James Hyatt, 29, took the stand during his own hearing in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Thursday, to face multiple allegations of assault and emotional abuse and intimidation.
His ex-girlfriend, who was 17 at the time of their relationship, accused Mr Hyatt of assaulting her on at least six separate occasions.
Mr Hyatt told Magistrate Sharon Cure the teenager “consented to it all” and claimed the pair choked each other for pleasure and played rough, describing their relationship as “volatile and drug-fuelled”.
When questioned about whether he punched her in the face on one occasion, splitting her lip, Mr Hyatt replied “if I’ve only split her lip then I’ve done a pretty poor job considering what I can do”.
He was also asked if he had physically kicked her out a door. He responded “if I wanted to kick her … she would have flew out the door, don’t you worry”.
Mr Hyatt instead claimed the couple had been arguing and the teenager was trying to come back inside when he performed a “tee-push kick”.
Demonstrating the move in the court room, the former mixed martial arts fighter said he was trying to put distance between him and his girlfriend and described the force he used as “a three out of 10”.
He admitted to kicking her on another occasion, but said she had asked for it and he was “demonstrating” a leg kick – he said this time the force he used was about a “four out of 10”.
Two Tasmania Police officers also took the stand, detailing a night they were called by the complainant after she had been in an argument with Mr Hyatt.
Constable Daniel Midson said he and his partner found the alleged victim at a hotel in Launceston “distressed and barefoot”.
She told the officers she had found text messages on Mr Hyatt’s phone to his other girlfriend and asked if they could take her back to the couple’s unit and collect her belongings.
Constable Midson said Mr Hyatt was “worked up” when they arrived and he noticed a scratch on his chin and asked if his girlfriend had caused the injury.
“He said he was a 100-kilo cage fighter and do I honestly think a girl like that could do that to him,” Constable Midson told the court.
Mr Hyatt will continue his evidence on Thursday February 15.