Conor McGregor has paid tribute to the families of fallen American service members during a visit to the U.S. ahead of the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday.

McGregor said that it was an “honour” to be in Washington, D.C., ahead of the historic event, adding that he was proud “to stand with the 13 families who lost their loved ones at Abbey Gate.”

Abbey Gate was a suicide bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan that occurred in August 2021 in the final days of the United States’ tumultuous withdrawal from the country. 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans were killed in the blast, which would later trigger widespread debate and criticism.

“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,” Marlon Bateman, a U.S. Marine and advocate of the Abbey Gate Coalition, who attended the event with McGregor, according to the Washington Reporter.

“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.”

The report adds that McGregor spent an “entire evening” with the bereaved families and met with them privately for many hours.

Many of the families were well aware of McGregor’s exploits in the cage. “Nicole was a huge fan,” Cheryl Jules, the aunt of Sgt. Nicole Gee said. “She went on a Navy ship and within six months became a black belt in jiu jitsu…and could deadlift 285 with a pulled hip flexor. She was a huge fan.”

McGregor, who also said that he is “looking forward” to seeing Dana White while in D.C., left the families with one final tribute: “To you heroes,” he said, leading a cheer. “Let’s go.”