Exclusive: Inside Conor McGregor's meeting with Gold Star Families
“The cream always rises,” the prize-winning fighter said. For many of these families, the evening was an opportunity to meet the fighter who they and their kids spent hours watching.
World-renowned UFC fighter Conor McGregor came to Washington, D.C., this week with a mission — meet with the group of Gold Star families who invited him to President Donald Trump’s Inauguration. The Washington Reporter first reported McGregor’s visit with the Gold Star families and had exclusive access to the evening.
McGregor met the families in private and spent an evening swapping stories with them about their now-deceased children, many of whom watched McGregor’s fights. McGregor signed UFC gloves, an American flag with the names of the 13 service members killed during President Joe Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, and more. He had a simple message for the family members. “The cream always rises,” the prize-winning fighter said.
For many of the families, the evening was an opportunity to meet the fighter who they and their kids spent hours watching.
Cheryl Jules, the aunt of Sgt. Nicole Gee (who was killed in the Abbey Gate attack), explained to McGregor how much he meant to her niece. “Nicole was a huge fan,” she said. “She went on a Navy ship and within six months became a black belt in jiu jitsu…and could deadlift 285 with a pulled hip flexor. She was a huge fan.”
Jim McCollum, the father of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, told the Reporter that he and his son, who was one of the top high school wrestlers in Wyoming, would watch McGregor’s footage for hours. Rylee discovered McGregor well before the fighter made it big on the world stage. Rylee also over-indulged in McGregor-branded whiskey during his first date with his future wife; fortunately for him, she didn’t mind. Rylee’s sister, Cheyenne, wore a 15-year-old sweatshirt that paid homage to some of McGregor’s earlier fights.
Rylee’s wife had a daughter who was born after he was killed by a suicide bomber at the Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26, 2021, alongside twelve other service members.
At one point in the evening, Steve Nikoui, the father of Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, explained to McGregor why he disrupted Biden’s final State of the Union: “The State of the Union in the United States of America is when you would honor a sacrifice like what our kids did, and this guy, every time he goes to the State of the Union, he honors his kid Beau, who didn’t die in combat. Our kids died in combat, and that’s why I went up and said my kid’s name.”
“That’s a true father,” McGregor told him.
“God bless you bro,” Nikoui replied. Kareem was a four-time world champion jiu jitsu fighter, Steve explained. Mark Schmitz, the father of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, gave McGregor custom whiskey that honors the 13 service members.
Marlon Bateman, a Marine who has advocated for the families in the Abbey Gate Coalition, explained the lack of government acknowledgement the families have received.
“Imagine your opponent is the most powerful institution in the world, the President of the United States, who denies the existence of what happened in Afghanistan,” Bateman said. “These guys have fought those guys, and they went against the system when they didn’t know if they were going to win or not, and they didn’t know if they were going to win or not, and they helped the president get elected.”
McGregor wasn’t the only UFC hotshot to embrace Trump. “I’m looking forward to seeing Mr. [Dana] White while I’m out here,” he said, referring to the UFC’s CEO who is a close friend of Trump’s.
For hours, McGregor entertained the families, talking one-on-one with everyone, recording videos for some who weren’t there, and providing words of encouragement.
“To your heroes,” McGregor said during a toast he led, “let’s go.”
The following morning, the Gold Star families went to Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony led by Trump, which was first reported by the Reporter.
