Opinion: Conor McGregor Running for President of Ireland Could Be the Biggest Blunder in the UFC Star’s Career

Conor McGregor has made a lot of money fighting under the UFC banner for years now. He also found success in his business ventures, which made him the richest MMA fighter in the world. Now, McGregor is considering a different career path for himself. ‘The Notorious’ recently expressed an interest in running for the President of Ireland.

There is no doubt that Conor McGregor has a huge Irish following around the world. He is arguably one of the most popular athletes to ever come out of the Emerald Isle. However, we have reasons to believe that McGregor’s switching to politics could prove to be a wrong decision for the former UFC double champion. Let us take a look at a few reasons why.

Conor McGregor and his controversial past

Conor McGregor is never short of controversies, which suits his moniker of ‘The Notorious’. He has been subject to his fair share of controversies in the past. Some of the most common things McGregor has done are his ‘tweet and delete’ antics. The Irishman has often taken shots at other fighters or even some influential figures on Twitter (X), following which he tends to delete his tweets. Furthermore, he even shared an NSFW video once with his fiancee Dee Devlin, which was also later removed from his account.

When it comes to controversies outside of social media, there are plenty. Conor McGregor once attacked Khabib Nurmagomedov and his teammates while they were on a bus by throwing a dolly at the vehicle. This happened during their heated rivalry in 2018. He was arrested for that and even sentenced to community service.

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Another instance of McGregor’s controversial actions happened in a pub in his native city of Dublin. ‘The Notorious’ assaulted an elderly man due to a dispute regarding his Proper 12 whiskey. These incidents have left a bad taste in many people’s mouths, and this can be one of the biggest reasons why he should not be considering a political career. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at another reason.

A few MMA fighters have had failed political careers

Many influential personalities end up in politics in one way or another. The same goes for athletes as well. There have been many MMA fighters who have made the jump to politics, but it did not end all that well for them. One example is former two-weight champion and UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn. In 2022, ‘The Prodigy’ launched a campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor of Hawaii. However, as reported by ‘MMA Junkie‘, Penn lost to Duke Aiona by a very large margin. The UFC legend secured only 24 percent of the votes, while Aiona secured more than 52 percent of the votes.

Another MMA fighter who gave up politics was Tito Ortiz. He was sworn in as the mayor of Huntington Beach, California in 2021. However, he decided to give up his political career after just six months, as he handed in his resignation. This stemmed from Ortiz’s anti-vaccine stance during the COVID-19 pandemic, which earned him a lot of criticism. During his resignation speech, he said, “The attacks against me have moved to involve my family. I now feel for their safety is in danger. To put it simply, this job isn’t working for me.” Conor McGregor could take these instances as examples before diving into politics. Now let us take a look at one final reason why politics could affect the Irishman negatively.

Getting into politics could push Conor McGregor away from MMA

Without a shadow of a doubt, Conor McGregor is still one of the biggest draws in all of combat sports. People constantly talk about him and he keeps making headlines. This is one reason why people are eagerly anticipating his return to the Octagon. However, if he decides to run for President of Ireland, it could sway him away from the sport that made him who he is. Conor McGregor was most active as an MMA fighter in the UFC from 2013 to 2016. However, after 2016, he slowed his pace down. The Irishman had no fights in 2017 and then returned in 2018 to compete only once against Khabib Nurmagomedov, which he lost.

Then again, after his fight against ‘The Eagle’, he competed only three times, winning only one fight. Thereafter, Conor McGregor found himself busy in his business ventures, which started to bloom. This has kept him away from fighting for a long time. Now that the former double champion has been out of action for more than two years, joining politics could bring an end to his illustrious MMA career at just 35 years of age. Many people believe that he still has a lot more to offer to the sport.

Conor McGregor is perhaps at the final stage of his fighting career. But he still grabs the attention of MMA fans all around the world. This can be a factor for him to consider continuing to fight because a move to politics could result in his career as an athlete and a fighter coming to an end, and he could be subjected to a lot of criticism given his controversial past.

What do you think about McGregor considering running for president? Drop your comments below.

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