Exclusive: UFC’s Conor McGregor attending Donald Trump’s inauguration at the invitation of Gold Star families

Conor McGregor, the UFC superstar, will join the Gold Star families who make up the Abbey Gate Coalition for President Donald Trump’s inauguration, multiple sources familiar with his schedule told the Washington Reporter.

McGregor’s attendance at Trump’s inauguration has not been previously reported, and it was facilitated by a coalition comprised of Gold Star families whose loved ones were killed in President Joe Biden’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan. Several of the families told the Reporter that they and their loved ones virtually idolized the legendary fighter.

For one of the Gold Star fathers, McGregor’s presence holds special meaning. Steve Nikoui, the father of Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, said that one of his son’s “dreams was to be a UFC fighter. He trained in ju-jitsu and was a ju-jitsu world champion several times over,” Nikoui said. “He was also an advent boxer. The fact that his favorite UFC fighter has taken interest in helping the Gold Star parents of Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan is nothing short of divine. With McGregor’s drive and tenacity, he will help us get the answers we need and help us advocate the policies we need in place so this never happens again.”

Jim McCollum, the father of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, told the Reporter that his son knew about McGregor years before the Irish fighter signed with the UFC, and that he and his son would watch McGregor’s fights while wrestling themselves. Rylee was one of the top high school wrestlers in Wyoming, and on his first date with his future wife, he indulged in a little too much of one of McGregor’s branded whiskies, his father told the Reporter. Fortunately for Rylee, he secured a second date, and he fathered a daughter who was born several months after his death in August 2021.

Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Sgt. Nicole Gee, who was killed at Abbey Gate, told the Reporter that she is “happy to have him join in honoring our fallen heroes and highlighting the love we have for our veterans.”

McGregor is expected to appear with the Gold Star families at multiple inauguration events, sources familiar with his schedule told the Reporter.