 "Who is Conor McGregor, the controversial fighter who announced bid for Ireland’s presidency?")
Conor McGregor has announced his bid for the presidency of Ireland.
The controversial 36-year-old Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star said he would run for the ceremonial position later this year.
The development comes just days after McGregor visited US President Trump at the White House.
McGregor will be running for president on an anti-immigration platform.
The fighter has denounced a new European Union migration pact.
McGregor wrote on X, “The next presidential election must take place by 11 Nov 2025. Who else will stand up to the government and oppose this bill? Any other candidate they put forward will be no resistance to them. I will!"
“As President, I would put forth this bill to referendum. Although I strongly oppose this pact, it is neither mine nor the government’s choice to make. It is the people of Ireland’s choice! That is true democracy!”
But who is McGregor? Why is he so controversial?
Let’s take a closer look:
Who is he?
McGregor is one of the most popular fighters in the history of the UFC.
The former plumber’s apprentice from Ireland’s Crumlin made his UFC debut in 2013.
McGregor, known as ‘the Notorious,’ would lose two out of his first six fights.
However, he would go on a tear through the UFC over the next few years – putting together a string of highlight reel knockouts in the featherweight and lightweight division.
McGregor’s main weapon in the Octagon is a scorching and laser accurate left hand.
His power was dubbed the ‘touch of death’ by legendary MMA coach Firas Zahabi.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHowever, that came at a cost to his stamina and cardio vascular ability.
McGregor became champion in two UFC weight classes – featherweight and lightweight – and the first fighter to do so simultaneously.
Many called McGregor the UFC version of Mike Tyson – a frontrunner with incredible knockout ability early in fights.
McGregor also holds the record for the biggest PPV in history – which he drew in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
In 2021, Forbes called McGregor the world’s highest paid sports athlete.
However, today, McGregor is no longer the force he once was inside Mixed Martial Arts.
For one, he has not stepped into the cage since 2021.
He has lost three of his last four fights and announced his retirement multiple times.
It is unlikely he will ever return to the sport that made him big.
McGregor has spent the past few years having fun – drinking, partying, and promoting the Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey brand he helped create in 2018 and sold in 2021.
McGregor has long been dogged by rumours of drinking and substance abuse.
However, in November 2024, McGregor was dropped as the face of Proper No. 12.
This comes after McGregor was found liable in a case of sexual assault.
Which brings us to his long list of controversies.
McGregor’s many controversies
Over the years, McGregor has frequently been in trouble with the law.
He has been accused of serious allegations including violence, criminal conduct and sexual assault.
McGregor has denied the latter.
As per Rolling Stone, McGregor in 2017 and 2018 pleaded guilty for speeding.
McGregor was also involved in one of the most reprehensible incidents in UFC history.
In 2018, McGregor and his entourage attacked a bus on which several UFC fighters were aboard – injuring several of them. McGregor threw a hand dolly at the bus’s windshield.
Though UFC president Dana White called McGregor’s behaviour disgusting, the UFC did not punish their massive star.
McGregor was arrested by the authorities and pled guilty to one count of disorderly conduct – thus avoiding jail time, as per MMA Fighting.
The year 2019 was arguably McGregor’s worst year when it comes to legal trouble.
In 2019, it was reported that Irish authorities were investigating McGregor for the alleged sexual assault of a woman at a Dublin hotel.
In fact, that year, McGregor was accused by yet another woman who claimed he had sexually assaulted her in a car in Dublin.
As per Sky News, McGregor also pleaded guilty to assaulting a patron in a Dublin pub that year.
The man’s offense? Turning down a chance to sample McGregor’s Proper No Twelve whiskey.
At the time, it was revealed that McGregor had been convicted of criminal offences a whopping 18 times.
McGregor also accosted a fan attempting to take his picture and smashed his phone.
The case was dropped after McGregor, who was arrested for criminal mischief and strong-armed robbery, reached an undisclosed out of court settlement with the fan.
McGregor in 2020 was taken into police custody in Corsica.
This after a woman accused him of attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure at a bar.
The case was later dropped over lack of evidence.
“Conor McGregor vigorously denies any accusations of misconduct,” his representative told TMZ at the time. “He has been interviewed and released.”
In 2021, an Italian DJ accused McGregor of breaking his nose in an unprovoked assault.
The DJ, Francesco Facchinetti, claimed McGregor attacked him at the St. Regis Hotel in Rome.
Facchinetti told CNN he was pursuing charges against McGregor “because the world needs to know the fact that he is dangerous.”
As per The Sun, in 2022, a 40-year-old woman accused McGregor of attacking her on his luxury yacht in Ibiza during his 34th birthday celebrations.
The woman claimed she was injured after having to jump off the yacht to escape McGregor’s violent advances.
The woman sued McGregor civilly but dropped the case in January 2023.
McGregor claimed he was “steadfast in his denial of all the accusations made by a guest on his boat."
Also, in 2022, McGregor was arrested for driving without a license and insurance.
As per CNN, in 2023, a woman accused McGregor of sexual battery in a bathroom at the 2023 NBA Finals game in Miami.
In November 2024, the woman who alleged the rape in the Dublin hotel room was awarded $257,000 by a jury in a civil trial in Ireland.
McGregor claimed the encounter was consensual and vowed to appeal the result.
McGregor also faced a lawsuit from former best friend and fellow MMA fighter Artem Lobov.
Lobov has claimed McGregor owes him money from the sale of Proper No. Twelve.
Experts say McGregor has almost no shot at winning the presidency of Ireland.
“Close to zero,” Gail McElroy, a professor of political science at Trinity College Dublin, told Sky News.
“There’s two hurdles. First, you have to get nominated and then you have to win a majority of the vote.
“Both of those hurdles are almost insurmountable [for McGregor],” she added.
As per CNN, presidential candidates must be nominated by at least 20 of the 234 members of the lower and upper houses of parliament.
Failing that, four of Ireland’s 31 local councils must nominate McGregor as a candidate.
“Conor McGregor is toxic in Ireland. I think it’s almost inconceivable that four county councils would endorse him.”
McGregor isn’t popular with the public either.
The outlet quoted a December 2023 poll in the Irish Independent determined that just eight per cent of people would vote for him for president.
Meanwhile, a massive 89 per cent said they would not vote for McGregor.
Ireland has “nothing in comparison to the proportion of Americans who share those views,” McElroy added.
“There are people with right-wing views or populist views or anti-immigrant views but not enough to affect McGregor.
“It would be a small minority vote. He’s so far out. There are many, many candidates ahead of him.”
With inputs from agencies
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