Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has assessed the decision to have family present at fights following Kamaru Usman‘s defeat at UFC 278.
This past Saturday, Usman targeted another in-Octagon family celebration following a sixth successful defense of the welterweight title he’d held since 2019. But instead, he awoke to the sight of arena lights and a jubilant Leon Edwards soaking in the arena noise, which he’d invoked with a truly vicious head-kick knockout.
While videos have since shown the reaction of the fighter area, which saw Usman’s teammate Justin Gaethje and manager Ali Abdelaziz visibly in disbelief at the result, there was an even more distraught figure on the arena floor, as was described on Twitter by MMA reporter Mike Bohn.
“Just witnessed Kamaru Usman’s daughter get carried out off the arena floor by one of his team as she bawled her eyes out. That was a sad sight. #UFC278,” Bohn wrote.
Usman is known to share an incredibly close relationship with his daughter, with the elite welterweight often being seen with her in videos and on social media, as well as expressing how hard it is to be away from her during camps.
With that in mind, the defeat didn’t only come with MMA implications, as Usman’s daughter watched him be brutally dispatched and left unconscious on the mat, which would no doubt have been a terrifying sight for a child.
Responding to Bohn’s post with a tweet of his own was McGregor, who ditched his mockery of Usman’s loss to post a more serious assessment of the risks that come along with fighting in front of family members.
McGregor: “Going To The Mission Solo Is Best”
After advising fighters to enter the “mission” on their ones rather than with family in tow, McGregor suggested that he’ll be taking that approach when he makes his return to the Octagon.
“I feel this deep. I do not suggest bringing family whatsoever. Especially the children. This is different fighting. I’ve done both sides of this and feel going to the mission solo is best,” McGregor wrote. “You can see family again post battle. Will definitely be continuing this way going forward.”
While family present perhaps brings with it a more satisfying feel in victory, with the chance to celebrate with parents and children inside the cage, being left unconscious in front of them is no doubt an outcome many fighters will be reluctant to risk — that seemingly includes the “Notorious” McGregor from now on.
Do you agree with Conor McGregor? Is it best for fighters to compete without family present?