Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has thrown his hat into the political ring, announcing he will run for president in his native Ireland.

He made the announcement in a lengthy post to Instagram on Friday, urging people to vote for him and discussing his opposition to the EU Migration Pact — which would compel member states to more evenly share the cost and burdens of hosting migrants and reform the EU’s asylum and border security procedures.

“Who else will stand up to Government and oppose this bill?… I will!” he wrote in the post, along a picture of him holding his child in front of a private jet while wearing a green cap with “Make Ireland Great Again” emblazoned across the front.

“It is the people of Irelands choice! Always! That is a true democracy,” he also wrote. “This is the future of Ireland with me as President. All citizens of Ireland to have a voice and a choice on their future! God bless our people. Vote McGregor and have your voice heard!”

Mr. McGregor is known for populist political views. While speaking with the press at the White House on Monday alongside spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, he said that Ireland was “on the cusp of losing its Irishness” due to an “illegal immigration racket.”

“Our government has long since abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland, and it’s high time that America is made aware of what’s going on in Ireland,” he said. “What is going on in Ireland is a travesty. Our government is a government of zero action and zero accountability.”

He first teased his potential bid for office back in September saying he was the “only logical choice” to lead the country.

Mr. McGregor, a bombastic figure within the combat sports world who often refers to himself as “The Notorious,” has been embroiled with numerous controversies over the years. 

In March 2019, he was arrested at Miami outside the Fontainebleau Hotel after allegedly attacking a fan who was taking a picture and smashed his phone to pieces. He’s also faced numerous charges for assault incidents at New York, Rome, and Dublin.

The fighter has been accused multiple times for allegations of sexual assault and rape, including one from 2018 in his hometown of Dublin where a civil jury found him liable and ordered to pay damages to the victim.

Micheál Martin the Irish Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, condemned his comments, saying they were “wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland,” according to a report from the Irish Independent.

In 2023, Ireland saw a spate of anti-immigrant riots that led to an “extraordinary outbreak of violence” as political leaders in the Emerald Isle sided with Palestinian Arabs in Hamas’s attacks against Israel.

Ireland’s opposition party, Sinn Féin, also put forward a motion to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court.

“There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place,” Mr. McGregor said on a post on X in the wake of the riots, “and there has been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape or form with this frightening fact.”