Mixed martial arts prizefighter Conor McGregor’s bid for the Irish presidency is running into some headwinds before the first bell rings thanks to opposition from established politicians and the parties that back them in the country. 

The brash fighter is banking on a Trump-style populist appeal to capture Ireland’s highest office, but recent efforts from establishment politicians in the Emerald Isle may block him from even making it on the ticket.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, officially banned local representatives from the Fine Gael political party from helping independent candidates get on the ballot. For an independent candidate like Mr. McGregor to get on the ballot, he or she would need the backing from 20 members of Oireachtas, Ireland’s parliament, across four different councils. 

Mr. Harris has instructed his party, which has a majority of Oireachtas seats, that if there is a vote to get an independent candidate on the ballot that it must “oppose that nomination.”

“Fine Gael public representatives cannot in any way facilitate the nomination of any candidate other than the ratified Fine Gael candidate,” the party’s general secretary, John Carroll, said in an email message to Fine Gael officials.

“In the event of a vote of any local authority on the nomination of a person other than the ratified Fine Gael candidate, the Fine Gael local authority members are whipped to oppose that nomination.”

Independent candidates seeking a nomination along with Mr. McGregor include attorney Maria Steen, activist Nick Delehanty, and musician Bob Geldof. Independent candidates will begin approaching councils next week to request nominations.

Mr. McGregor, who is running on an anti-immigration and populist platform, has not yet met the requirements for eligibility and is considered a longshot due to his lack of party affiliation.

Last week, the combative athlete took to social media and beseeched his supporters to contact their local councilors to back him for nomination, doubling down on his populist stance.

“Ireland has a master of martial combat, a solution-driven man,” he said in a video posted on Instagram filmed in front of an Irish government building at Dublin. “In Ireland, under my tenure, the will of the people will be heard.”

He also had a direct message for those serving in office.

“If you are a councillor who feels your voice is ignored, your hands tied, and your community overlooked, then I ask you to stand with me,” he wrote in a caption for the video. “Nominate me, and I will give you the platform and power to be truly heard.”

Mr. McGregor’s checkered past has also been a factor in not being able to meet requirements to get on the ballot.

In December of last year, he was found liable by a jury in a Dublin Court and ordered to pay $300,000 to Nikita Hand, who accused the fighter and another man of forcing her to have sex without her consent during a 2018 incident.

In America, he was sued last January by an unidentified woman who says he assaulted her at the Kaseya Center at Miami after a 2023 NBA Finals game.

Mr. McGregor’s entrance in the Irish political arena has also gained attraction stateside, with Elon Musk throwing his support behind the fighter on Monday, calling Mr. Harris ‘tyrannical’ for his recent actions.

“Shame on Simon Harris for tyrannically blocking the will of the people of Ireland,” he said in a post on X. 

“Conor McGregor for President to save Ireland.”