5 UFC Superstars and their jobs before they hit the big time.
The fight game is known for its glitz and glamour, with top-level combatants earning several millions of dollars over the course of their careers. However, unbeknownst to most casual fans, these top MMA stars have been through some pretty rough times in their lives, toiling through their day-to-day life and doing odd jobs in order to make ends meet.
Now although several fighters such as Stephen Thompson, Jon Jones, Alistair Overeem and others were born with a silver spoon, so to speak, the sport of MMA has many other competitors who weren’t as privileged growing up. Said fighters worked low-paying jobs in their teens, their youth and in some cases even as children to support their families. Top MMA organisations like the UFC are replete examples of such hard-working men and women. Today, we look back at a few such true warriors and the unlikely professions they tried their hand at, before making it to the big-time in the UFC.
#5 ‘The Notorious Plumber’ Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is one of the biggest names in MMA and the UFC’s highest-grossing PPV star as of today, however, that wasn’t the case a few years back when ‘The Notorious’ worked in cold, dark kitchens and bathrooms in the remote rural areas of his Ireland. In 2006, after moving with his family to Lucan in West Dublin, McGregor commenced a plumbing apprenticeship, something that he had no desire to do whatsoever, but was forced to owing to meeting his daily needs.
While in Lucan, ‘Notorious’ met future UFC fighter Tom Egan and it’s his friendship with Egan that led to him training in martial arts. Shortly after being introduced to the sport of MMA on one rainy night in Ireland, Conor, sick to his stomach of his plumbing job, got into a car and just drove away from his workplace; quitting the plumbing profession forever, vowing never to look back.
Furthermore, till his UFC debut in February 2013, McGregor was still collecting welfare checks in Dublin, due to him quitting his plumbing job, much to the chagrin of his parents. From collecting welfare checks in Ireland to getting mobbed by fans in the States, McGregor has come a long way.
After smashing his way to the top of the UFC in a matter of a couple of years, McGregor has been one of the organisation’s biggest money-makers since 2015. Add to that the fact that boxing’s ‘Richie Rich’ Floyd Mayweather Jr., is gunning for a $100 Million boxing showdown against the Irishman, I think it’s safe to say that Conor was right in quitting his previous job. That brings us to MMA’s legends and their shocking job profiles...