Among the chaos that engulfed the end of the fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, one man went unnoticed.
David Martin’s name may mean little but television footage shows him entering the Octagon following McGregor’s defeat and the resultant riot.
The former two-weight champion was punched by a member of Nurmagomedov’s team and Martin, 41, decided to check on him.
He managed to make his way from his cageside seat to the Octagon and clamber in.
"I wouldn’t say adrenaline took over," Martin told USA Today . "I’d say patriotism took over first.
"I thought Russia was attacking Ireland. I thought a bunch of Russians were jumping in and this guy (McGregor) was tired and beaten down from the fight and was being attacked by what I thought were a bunch of Russian fans. I needed to step in. I was thinking my country was calling for me right now and I’m going in.
"Conor was about to get attacked. I put my hands on top of Daniel [Cormier] to leapfrog him because he’s not that tall. I leaped over him and saw the door (to the Octagon) open and I wanted to get in there and protect my countryman. I thought there were all Russian guys in there and I wasn’t having that."
Martin has since tweeted a picture of a WhatsApp conversation between himself, his wife, mother and sister as his family watched him enter the arena.
His worried mum asks, "What’s happened to him?" before saying "It’s what’s going to happen outside that I’m more afraid of. Not good enough, he shouldn’t have got in there."
She then adds: "David if you’re reading this please stay away from any trouble, use your scout training."
Cormier, the UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion, had recalled the incident on Monday but did not know who Martin was.
He said on ESPN: "There’s a guy behind me, he’s wearing this nice jacket. So he’s standing behind me, and he goes, ‘Who you got in the fight?’ This guy’s completely not into the game, right? So I go, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna go Khabib.’
"So after the fight, when we all jumped the rail, I’m like in the octagon pushing, and the guy’s like checking on Conor. He was like a fan. He was just like a fan that jumped the rail when everyone else jumped the rail and got all the way to the Octagon – he was like checking on Conor.
"I (later) asked my wife, ‘Salina, what happened with that guy? Was he with McGregor?’ She goes, ‘Daniel, after he went and checked to make sure Conor was OK, he just got back in his seat.’ I swear to God. He just climbed the rail and got back in his seat. I was like, ‘What in the world just happened!? What in the world just happened!?’
"It was crazy. How did this dude end up in the Octagon, and then he checked to make sure Conor was OK, and then he went back and sat down."
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