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.

Conor McGregor, the world-renowned UFC fighter, came to Washington, D.C. with a mission: to meet a 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 entire evening with them swapping stories about them and their children, many of whom watched McGregor’s fights to become better wrestlers. Amidst signing everything from UFC gloves to an American flag with the names of the 13 service members killed during President Joe Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, McGregor had a simple message for the family members.

“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.

Cheryl Jules, the aunt of Sgt. Nicole Gee, 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 jiujitsu…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 — the connection the McCollum family has to McGregor runs deeper than just film review. Rylee had a bit too much of a McGregor-branded whisky during his first date with his future wife; fortunately for the younger McCollum, he secured future dates and her hand in marriage. Rylee’s sister, Cheyenne, wore a sweatshirt that she’s had for fifteen years that paid homage to some of McGregor’s earlier fights.

Rylee and his wife had a daughter who was born after Rylee was killed alongside 12 other service members at Abbey Gate at the Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26, 2021, by a suicide bomber.

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 jiujitsu fighter, Steve explained. Mark Schmitz, the father of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, gave McGregor custom whisky that honors the 13 service members.

McGregor’s presence meant an aligning of fighters of different sorts. Marlon Bateman, a Marine who helped steer the Abbey Gate Coalition through thick and thin, explained the struggle the families have gone through to get straightforward answers from the government.

“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’s visit came as the broader UFC world is fully embracing 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 every one, recording videos for some who weren’t there, and providing words of encouragement.

“To your heroes,” McGregor said during a cheers he led in the waning hours of the evening. “Let’s go.”

The following morning, the Gold Star families went to Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony led by President Donald Trump, which was first reported by the Reporter.