Conor McGregor announced recently that he plans to make a run for the Irish presidency this year, and he’s now confirmed that means that fighting won’t be his main focus for the time being.
“I’ve got two fights under contract (with the UFC),” McGregor said at a BKFC press conference. “I’m in negotiations.
“Last week something happened to me. I went to the White House and my heart bleeds for my country right now. So, there’s a lot of stuff going on back home.
“I’m happy with what I’ve done. There’s something else for me that’s in my gut right now, so that’s kind of where I’m going. Greatness doesn’t rush, also. Greatness does not rush.”
McGregor’s ambition to become the Irish president came just days after he was invited to the White House to celebrate St. Patricks Day, where he met with President Trump and also expressed his frustration regarding the current immigration situation in his native Ireland.
And it seems it’s led to him deciding that he would rather become a politician than fight again.
“There was an opportunity, or a deal we’ll say to fight in Alcatraz only recent,” McGregor said. “And there’s an event going on in Alcatraz I think in June. They came to me, and it wasn’t my worth. As a fighter we have to know our worth.
“I hold ever pay-per-view record in the book. I hold every gate record in he book, and my comeback will be slated as the greatest comeback, or the biggest, most anticipated comeback of all time.
“So, it has to be right, and right now Ireland is in my thoughts. That’s where I’m at.”
It’s worth noting that the UFC doesn’t have any events scheduled for Alcatraz in June, and in fact already has fight scheduled for every weekend that month in other destinations. Given that McGregor himself acknowledges that he’s still under contract with the promotion it seems that this alleged deal was likely just the latest in a number of pie-in-the-sky opportunities that weren’t going to materialize.
And that’s a story that’s become all too familiar for those following the 36-year-old McGregor’s story as it’s now closing in on four years since ‘The Notorious’ last fought, despite frequent claims from the former featherweight and lightweight champion that he was on the verge of a return to action.
It’s worth noting though that there is also a healthy dose of scepticism that he will actually be able to run for the presidency in Ireland, with legal experts having pointed to the fact that he’d need to have the support of either 20 members of the Irish parliament or 4 local councils in order to qualify as a nominee, which he is believed to be highly unlikely to be able to achieve.
As such, it’s quite possible that it might not be all that long before McGregor is back to talking up the possibility of a return to the UFC instead.
