Two months ago, we brought you the news that Irish UFC champ Conor McGregor was reportedly in talks to appear in the final season of Game of Thrones.
The Internet reacted much as expected, with longtime fans of HBO’s fantasy flagship speculating wildly about McGregor’s alleged involvement. Alas, it appears that the two-weight world champion won’t have any part to play in Game of Thrones whatsoever, after the Lightweight Champion told Good Times Network (via EW) that he “never even heard about” the rumors until the story went viral. According to McGregor, HBO brass did approach him about a potential cameo months before the unfounded report surfaced online.
“I heard about it once after [a fight],” he McGregor said, “backstage in the dressing room. [UFC executives, including Dana White, were] in front of me and they were saying ‘these [vistors] want you to be in Game of Thrones.’ I’m banged up, my shin’s in a heap, I’ve been kicking his knee’s straight for 25 minutes, my leg’s in bits, and he’s trying to offer me a Game of Thrones role.”
His response? A categorical ‘no, thank you’, claiming that he’s “not trying to be in show business” and is instead firmly focused on his UFC career.
“And I’m saying, ‘Listen, come at me with s*** I want to hear, I’m not trying to be in show business, I’m trying to be in the fight business. Come at me with a real number to fight again. So that was the only time I ever heard the [words] Games of Thrones. And it went everywhere like months later! So I don’t know where that came from. But I’ve never been in contact with nobody from Game of Thrones and now I’m starring in Game of f—ing Thrones!”
It’s worth pointing out that McGregor’s response could be smoke and mirrors; after all, the UFC fighter offered his likeness for a role in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare last year, hinting that he’s not opposed to exploring other fields of entertainment beyond the ring. Does that mean a trip to Westeros is on the cards? Unlikely, but we’ll keep you posted as this story develops.
The penultimate season of Game of Thrones will air sometime this summer, before the eighth and final batch of episodes brings the curtain down on HBO’s fantasy flagship once and for all in 2018.