Despite many in his own country playing down his political ambitions, Conor McGregor has been backed to potentially nab the Presidency by a fellow lightweight UFC star.
McGregor, who has been vocal in his pursuit of an unlikely political career this year, has been lobbying for American support for his cause by appearing in interviews with conservative commentators like Tucker Carlson.
Vowing to end his perceived problems with immigration, a rhetoric that stunningly mirrors the American GOP, McGregor claimed his heart currently bleeds for the Republic of Ireland.
However, the Irish striker’s chances of a Presidential victory are believed to be slim to none. A host of Oireachtas members have already shot down the idea- he needs 20 to even run. At this point, he needs four separate county councils to publicly endorse him- an unlikely scenario, especially after being found liable to be guilty in the Nikita Hand sexual assault case.
But according to former title challenger Renato Moicano, McGregor’s charisma alone may help him scoop the ambassadorial role as Irish President.
“You know how crazy Conor McGregor is?” Moicano said on his Show Me The Money podcast.
“He went on Tucker Carlson, he was talking all sorts of sh*t, my brother. How does this motherf*cker have the courage, you know? He’s talking a big game on politics. This guy is f*cking crazy”, a clearly impressed Moicano noted.
And to boot, Moicano claims an elderly friend of his wife is backing McGregor to win the seat — claiming he would be a good fit as Irish President, too.
“She was talking about how Conor McGregor will make Ireland good again,” Moicano added.
“I said, ‘That lady doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’ She’s watching politics and she says, ‘Ireland is a f*cking mess right now.’ …She doesn’t know who McGregor is, but she thinks he will be a good President”, the Brazilian claimed.
Notably, however, the Crumlin striker’s fellow countrymen and women hugely beg to differ. In fact the owners of the venue where McGregor and Carlson questioned the state of democracy in Ireland have apologized for hosting the far-right entities.
Philip Daley, the grand secretary of the Irish Freemasons, claimed that they were only informed about the individuals and the subject of their discussions an hour before the interview.
“The Freemasons of Ireland categorically denies any association with the interviewer or interviewee and regrets that such an interview took place on our premises. We apologise to our members and confirm that steps have been taken to avoid a recurrence”, they said.
McGregor refuses right-wing tag
Despite basing the entirety of his fleeting political ambition on immigration policy in the Republic, and notable association with right-wing commentators, the former UFC champion has recently labelled himself far from a right-wing thinker.
Speaking with Carlson last week, the 36-year-old insisted he was neither right-wing nor left-leaning.
Far left, far right – all of these terminologies mean nothing to me,” McGregor said.
Citing its virtues, McGregor added, “I am a family man. I am a supporter of many people. And I care about my land. …I am not right. left. I feel I am centered. Grounded. And that is what I feel. In fact, I ground myself everyday.”
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 21, 2025
However, despite his assertion about not wanting to be labelled, McGregor has been called by political pundits and academics on online hate watch have claimed him to be a figurehead for the far-right movement in Ireland.
Ciarán O’Connor, a senior analyst with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told CNN following the Dublin riots in 2023 that McGregor’s tweets in the lead up to the violence were a call for action against illegal immigration.
Notably, as the violence raged on, McGregor had, in a now-deleted tweet, said, “You reap what you sow.”
