Conor McGregor flying in style with his son. Photo: @thenotoriousmma/Instagram
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Before UFC, Conor McGregor made a living fixing toilets – here’s what life was like before the Irish MMA fighter’s US$100 million fight against Floyd Mayweather
Millionaire Conor McGregor and fiancée Dee Devlin might be living the high life now, but before the MMA star got the attention of coach John Kavanagh he fixed toilets for a living, relied on social welfare and was even bullied at school
Conor McGregor, then and now. Photos: @BeWarmers; @thenotoriousmma/Instagram
MMA fighter Conor McGregor might be No 16 on Forbes’ “World’s Highest Paid Athletes 2020” list, but he didn’t always live that rich life. Before his “money fight” with Floyd Mayweather – the one that earned him US$100 million – the Irishman was born into a working-class family and had a stint waking up at 5am to hitch rides to fix people’s toilets for a living. But he risked a stable job to follow his dreams and it all paid off.
Here’s what life looked like for McGregor before the US$3.4 million supercar, before the private jets and expensive watches, signature whiskey line and the expensive jewellery gifts for fiancée Dee Devlin.
He was bullied at school
He might be feared in the octagon today, but the MMA champ was bullied when he was a boy growing up in Ireland. He apparently used to get teased regularly by older kids and sometimes things would turn physical. If he wasn’t able to dodge the schoolboy fights McGregor’s strategy was to keep a dumbbell in his bag in case he needed a weapon to defend himself.
He used to be a plumber
Before his MMA career kicked off, McGregor was an apprentice plumber who spent up to 12 hours a day fixing pipes and toilets. He told The Guardian, “I was waking at 5am and walking in the dark, freezing cold until I reached the motorway and waited for a guy I didn’t even know to take me to the site … I know there are passionate, skilled plumbers. But I had no love for plumbing.”
Conor McGregor’s printed ribbon Gucci trainers. Photo: @ thenotoriousmma/Instagram
His parents didn’t approve of his career switch
He started out training at a local boxing club in between work shifts and taking part in competitive fights on weekends. But soon he decided to quit plumbing to train full time. His parents didn’t approve initially, but McGregor said he needed to follow his dreams.
I knew I didn’t want to be like the other guys on the building site, who were getting up early in the morning and working late at night. Labour work, you know, hard-hat work – that wasn’t for me
Conor McGregor versus Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone during a UFC 246 welterweight mixed martial arts bout in January 2020 in Las Vegas. Photo: AP Photo
He relied on social welfare
Despite having some minor victories as a fighter when he first started out, for a while McGregor still had to rely on social welfare to get by, once picking up a US$235 welfare cheque before his UFC debut.