PHOTOGRAPHER Dave Fogarty was picturing a career in professional MMA – until Conor McGregor came calling.
The Irishman was an amateur champion with World and European medals to his name.
And while training to be a fighter, he picked up the camera as a hobby to do while out the gym and snapped in local Irish shows.
That is how he was introduced to McGregor – who later became his boss after the UFC icon offered him a job as his personal photographer.
Fogarty, 34, told SunSport: “I definitely could’ve turned pro.
“It was definitely on the cards and something I thought about but when my amateur career had come to an end is when I started working full time for Conor.
“The time commitment working with Conor wouldn’t work with the full time commitment of doing pro MMA.
“So I obviously chose to continue working with Conor.”
Despite walking away from a fight career, Fogarty has never left MMA.
That is because he is on call 24/7 with McGregor, meaning he is always in the gym and around the world’s biggest fights.
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Fogarty is among McGregor’s most trusted confidants.
The talented snapper is part of McGregor’s core team who travel around the world with him.
Fogarty joins nutritionist Tristan Kennedy and strength coach Julian Dalby along with a padman and masseuse wherever McGregor goes.
He said: “The man doesn’t take holidays, he doesn’t take vacations. He’s always doing something, when he’s away, the team is always away with him.
“Like he says, there’s a gym on the yacht. Even if he’s on his yacht, he’s still training. He trains all year round. It’s great to be surrounded by that.”
Fogarty – who has continued to train since his last MMA bout in 2017 – has captured McGregor’s meteoric rise through his lens.
He revealed: “It’s mad. When you step back and see what it must be like for him.
“Because when all that stuff is happening, I’m just in work mode making sure I get the pictures and have it covered.
“So to step back and see that’s what he does, day in and day out. That’s his life, it’s crazy.
Conor wears different hats. You can be around him sometimes and he’s Conor, your friend and you’re having a buzz. And then, when it’s time to get to work and he becomes the boss.
Conor McGregor's photographer Dave Fogarty
“It becomes normal until you step back and realise that it isn’t normal.”
Fogarty teased that an upcoming project he worked on with McGregor is due to be released soon.
And he opened up on how his close friend can just as quickly flip to strict boss at any moment.
He said: “Conor wears different hats. You can be around him sometimes and he’s Conor, your friend and you’re having a buzz.
“And then, when it’s time to get to work and he becomes the boss there’s times when I’m taking pictures and it hasn’t been his vision.
“And, he’s told me about it. He’s let me know, that’s when it’s Conor the boss.
“But there’s times when he loves the pictures and we’re having a buzz.
“There’s times where he’s Conor McGregor, head of McGregor Sports & Entertainment or Claymore Productions.
“I don’t want people telling me all the time my pictures are great, they’re not always great, no one’s are.
“I think it’s important to have that relationship.”
Fogarty will now call on McGregor’s expertise as he prepares to make his fight return – this time in the boxing ring.
He has signed to Misfits Boxing – home to celebrity-style crossover bouts – and faces their lightweight champion Deen the Great on August 31 in Dublin.
Fogarty will be coached by McGregor’s first ever trainer, Irish boxing great Phil Sutcliffe.
When travelling with McGregor, he will work under the same coaches and recovery team hired by the UFC legend.
He will then jet back to do his sparring under the watchful eye of two-time Olympian Sutcliffe.
Fogarty does not rule out McGregor coming to support on the night and will make use of everything he has learned over the years while observing his boss.
He said: “I’ve soaked it all in. I’ve structured my training camp the exact same way I’ve seen Conor structure his. That’s where I’ve got the blueprint from.
“It’s a very precise, measured and calculated way of doing it and it’s the optimal way of doing it.
“Obviously, being around Conor and seeing how he’s done it is the way I’ll do it. He’s one of the best minds in combat sports history.
“He’s a phenomenal coach, you saw on The Ultimate Fighter how dedicated he is to it, how dedicated and enthusiastic he is.
“I’ve taken in so much from him, being around and seeing how he puts his training camps together.
“It’s been a huge inspiration to how I’m going to do this.”
Fogarty will challenge for Deen’s lightweight belt and prepares to take on a brash-talking unbeaten American.
He said: “I’ve said it from the start, He is good. I’m not going to take anything away from him or discredit him.
“He is a good fighter, a bit of a mouth, bit arrogant and cocky, but look, he is a good boxer. He’s got power in both hands, moves his head well, moves his feet well.
“So I think it’s a big challenge and the hardest fight in the division being the champion. But I’m here for big fights and big opportunities.”
