Conor McGregor discusses how Black Forge Inn defied expectations with its high-quality food: "Disbelief when I began this project"

Conor McGregor's Black Forge Inn has garnered considerable praise from restaurant-goers, partiers, and others. The combat sports megastar's world-renowned pub has now notched another accolade. McGregor has put forth his reaction to the same.

The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion purchased a pub in Dublin 12 back in 2020 and rebranded it as the Black Forge Inn. Its grand opening transpired in 2021.

Over the years, McGregor has founded and nurtured highly successful brands like Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, Forged Irish Stout, August McGregor clothing, and more. On that note, he appears to have helmed the Black Forge Inn with similar entrepreneurial excellence.

McGregor's Black Forge Inn has won gold, landing the top rank, for 'Bar Food of the Year' at the 2024 Irish Bar of the Year Awards. The Irishman subsequently took to social media and expressed his elation over the achievement, which is viewed as another impressive victory for him in the pubbing and broader business realms.

One of McGregor's notable social media posts about the same was on his Instagram Stories, wherein he alluded to changing people's perception of eating at the pub. The post featured an image of the Black Forge Inn's team celebrating the award. The UFC icon's statement in the post read as follows:

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"'Food in the Forge?' What was said to me in shock / almost disbelief when I began this project. In fairness it was valid. There was never food here. Now today however, we are the champions of food in Ireland. Follow your dreams!"

Check out a screenshot of Conor McGregor's Instagram Stories post below:

Screenshot of McGregor's Instagram Stories post [Image courtesy: @thenotoriousmma on Instagram]

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A look at MMA legend Conor McGregor's Black Forge Inn venture

Conor McGregor had reportedly spent approximately $2 million to acquire and renovate the pub. Given that the majority of the world was dealing with the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, his pub was no exception and faced several challenges in the 2020-2021 timeframe.

Records put forth by Jemi Ventures, which oversees the pub, suggested that it suffered losses of around $1.8 million in 2021 and more than $600k in 2022. The initial financial setbacks were attributed to the pandemic. In 2023, The Irish Independent reported that the business' total losses exceeded $2 million.

That said, Jemi Ventures estimated the Black Forge Inn and its assets' net book value at $6.1 million toward the end of 2022, which some believe signals the pub's strong brand value.

Meanwhile, Conor McGregor hasn't competed in the sport of MMA since July 2021 and was scheduled to face Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout at UFC 303 (June 2024). Regardless, a toe injury forced 'The Notorious' to withdraw from that event. UFC CEO Dana White has since maintained McGregor's comeback fight is unlikely to come to fruition in 2024.

Meanwhile, McGregor and Chandler recently hinted at moving on to other fights, but it appears that they haven't completely closed the door on their matchup.

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