UFC superstar Conor McGregor is set to enter a very different business venture. McGregor, who in addition his fighting career has investments in various pubs, his Proper 12 whiskey brand, and TIDL sports spray, will be appearing in the cast for Jake Gyllenhaal’s Roadhouse reboot. A statement from McGregor rep Karen Kessler, released to Ariel Helwani, confirmed the news.
“Conor McGregor is very excited to expand his storied career to Hollywood. While fighting remains his top focus, this is the beginning of another successful venture in the McGregor empire. He is eager to get started filming.”
McGregor To Make Hollywood Debut, Joins Roadhouse Cast
In the film, Gyllenhall will play a retired MMA fighter attempting to rehab a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. The original film starred Patrick Swayze. At one point, another UFC star – Ronda Rousey – was set to star in the film, but the project was shelved for several years. Recently, Amazon Studios have picked up the project and set about making it into a reality.
Although this will mark Conor McGregor’s debut as an actor, it’s not the first time the Irishman has appeared on the silver screen. His film debut came in the 2017 Netflix documentary Notorious, which chronicled McGregor’s meteoric rise from obscurity to superstardom.
More recently, Conor McGregor’s fortunes inside the Octagon have waned. He’s still recovering from a broken leg sustained while fighting Dustin Poirier last July, although McGregor and his camp insist that a return to competition is coming any day now.
McGregor is back training at SBG Ireland, with longtime head coach John Kavanagh confirming that the “Notorious” plans on returning to competition better than ever. Conor McGregor, however, has won only one fight since 2016, and bulked up considerably while on the sidelines. He may well leave the lightweight division – in which McGregor is 1-3 – for the greener pastures of another weight class.
Rumored clashes against the likes of de facto lightweight champ Charles Oliveira or a third fight against Nate Diaz are looking increasingly unlikely, as Oliveira is set to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, and Diaz is set to appear in the final fight of his career against Khamzat Chimaev.
If Hollywood doesn’t tempt Conor McGregor away from the UFC for good, his next opponent may well be Michael Chandler, the former Bellator lightweight champion who has been calling Conor out for months. Another option is Jorge Masvidal, who fights at 170 pounds, and is on a similar losing streak to McGregor.
Will you be seeing Conor McGregor in Roadhouse? Let us know in the comments.
