Instead, he quit in an online missive Monday to avoid suffering a likely technical knockout at the hands of Dublin City Council.
The council had been due to convene within hours to hear McGregor’s in-person appeal for their support. He had secured backing from only a few anti-immigration councilors, while dozens had pledged to reject him. The fighter had secured less, if any, support from other councils.
Reflecting the lack of real-world seriousness of his campaign, McGregor didn’t even travel to Dublin and issued his submission statement from the United States.
McGregor blamed “the straitjacket of an outdated Constitution” for his failure to get on the ballot. He didn’t mention the 2024 court judgment finding him civilly liable for raping a Dublin woman, nor his more recent failed effort to overturn that ruling using two withdrawn witnesses now being investigated for alleged perjury.
Ireland’s 1937 constitution does require presidential candidates to secure nominations either from four councils or 20 members of the Oireachtas, Ireland’s two-chamber parliament. McGregor failed to win even a single nomination from Ireland’s 234 national lawmakers.
However, McGregor’s bid for the Irish presidency — during which he won a visit to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House and was given copious long-distance support from X owner Elon Musk — likewise failed to garner any significant backing from the Irish public.