5 alternate career paths for Conor McGregor if he loses to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264

Conor McGregor finds himself at a crossroads in his career when he returns to the octagon at UFC 264. 'The Notorious' Irishman is in a must-win situation as a second consecutive defeat to Dustin Poirier would dramatically diminish his stock.

Already counting down the days... #UFC264[ July 10 | ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/DZxtGSW1O2 ] pic.twitter.com/bsuuDbJLMv

— UFC (@ufc) June 23, 2021

Suffering back-to-back losses would also send McGregor behind the line in the talent-rich lightweight division, where he must go through a murderers' row of contenders before getting back into title contention.

Would that be something McGregor is willing to do moving forward? Nobody knows. But what we do know is that McGregor has the ability to excel in any endeavor he channels his attention to, inside and outside of the octagon.

With that in mind, bowing out should he lose to Poirier would not be the worst idea for McGregor. After all, the Irishman doesn't need to keep fighting as he's all but guaranteed an indelible spot in the UFC's history books. On that note, let's take a look at five alternate career paths for McGregor if he retires after UFC 264.

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#5 Business tycoon Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor shows off his Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey

Conor McGregor is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in sports. The UFC superstar landed the top spot on Forbes' list of highest paid athletes in 2021, thanks in large part to his business acumen.

Conor McGregor is named the Forbes number 1 highest paid athlete for 2021. https://t.co/IJxkfSUhHH pic.twitter.com/fS4yXD3hub

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 12, 2021

McGregor's sale of the majority of his shares in whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve helped him beat out the likes of sports icons LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The Irishman owns and manages other companies such as fashion line August McGregor and fitness program McGregor FAST. If the Dublin native does hang up his gloves after UFC 264, there's good reason to believe that he'll try to grow his other business properties just like he did with Proper No. Twelve.

#4 Boxing attraction Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor in his pro-boxing debut

If Conor McGregor gets tired of getting leg-kicked and taken down, he can always come back to the squared circle for more money fights against boxing's biggest stars. The Irishman, after all, already dabbled in the sport when he made his debut pro-boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

Three years ago today, @FloydMayweather and @TheNotoriousMMA went face-to-face at weigh-ins 🇺🇸🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/IzhFMIlXuN

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) August 25, 2020

The highly-anticipated crossover bout befittingly dubbed 'The Money Fight,' earned McGregor a whopping $130 million. With two of the biggest draws in combat sports crossing paths, the grand event recorded the second-highest pay-per-view buy rate in history.

There are a number of high-profile boxers 'The Notorious' could partner with to generate the same amount of buzz that Mayweather-McGregor did.

tinatanggap ko

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 31, 2020

It's been previously reported that McGregor and Manny Pacquiao tried to put together a boxing mega-event, but it was nixed after the Irishman's loss to Poirier at UFC 257. It's also no secret that Jake Paul has been trying to coerce McGregor into fighting him for a long time.

#3 Hollywood star Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor in the Red Light Grammy Party

In previous years, it had been heavily rumored that Conor McGregor would appear on HBO's acclaimed series Game of Thrones. Due to his relationship with GoT stars Liam Cunningham and Hafthor Bjornsson, Hollywood insiders speculated that a McGregor cameo in the phenomenal fantasy drama was a likely possibility. However, nothing came of it.

More recently, the Irishman has revealed that he was very close to making an appearance on the popular historical drama television series, Vikings. However, McGregor said he had to pull out at the last moment for reasons he did not disclose.

Evidently, McGregor is somewhat interested in pursuing an acting career, although he never pushes through with the opportunities he's been given. That could very well be due to his busy schedule as a UFC star. If he does retire from MMA, though, he'll have plenty of time to appear in TV shows and movies.

Ronda Rousey, Randy Couture, Georges St-Pierre and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson are among the former UFC stars who found success in acting. There's no reason to believe McGregor can't follow in their footsteps.

#2 Fight promoter Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (left), Conor McGregor (right)

There's a reason Conor McGregor is still the UFC's biggest star despite his recent lack of success in the octagon. The man knows how to promote the hell out of himself and his fights.

Not only does the Dublin native have a natural gift of the gab, he also possesses an uncanny talent for shaping and spinning narratives. For these reasons, more so than his in-cage skills, McGregor is able to stay in the limelight.

Perhaps McGregor will be willing to use his name value to provide lesser-known fighters with some exposure once he retires from the sport. Much like Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather before him, McGregor has a cache that would allow him to easily transition from fighting to managing fighters as a promoter.

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#1 WWE Superstar Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor (left), Vince McMahon (right)

MMA and pro-wrestling are very much related to each other as there's a huge overlap of talent between the two sports. Ronda Rousey, Matt Riddle and Cain Velasquez are examples of UFC stars coming over to the WWE. Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar did the opposite, starting his career in a squared circle before conquering the octagon for multiple years.

McGregor may have been harsh in his comments regarding the WWE recently. It's no secret, however, that showing McGregor big bags of cash is one way to catch his attention. WWE chairman Vince McMahon has proven in the past that he's willing to pay top dollar for crossover stars.

According to fellow Irishman and former WWE champion Sheamus, it's only a matter of time before McGregor enters the world of pro-wrestling. In an interview with Digital Spy, 'The Celtic Warrior' said:

"I think WWE would suit him down to the ground. You know, we've had a lot of people come in and out, [Floyd] Mayweather came in, a lot of celebrities have come in, a lot of sports people. So I don't think anyone would raise eyebrows if he came in to WWE. I don't think it's if, I think it's a matter of when to be honest."