Irish hero who saved Conor McGregor from Dagestani goon squad draws UFC lifetime ban

David Martin is not your average Irishman.

No, the 41 year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) fan is a hero to the hordes of beer-guzzling sack-straddlers who cling to Conor McGregor like barnacles to a boat, because Martin had the shamrocks to storm the Octagon and save “Notorious” from the Dagestani fists of justice.

That’s right, readers, Martin saw the Russian goon squad storm the cage at UFC 229, thanks to the near-riot started by Khabib Nurmagomedov in the wake of his submission win over his lightweight nemesis back in October, and was compelled to take action.

Relive the madness here.

“In reality, if that guy that hit Conor in the head hit him in a different spot, like right-center of the back of the head and it could have been a fatal blow and Conor could have been dead,” Martin told For The Win. “It happens all the time at nightclubs, somebody gets punched right in back of head and it’s a fatal blow. Just because you’re Conor McGregor it doesn’t mean that something like that can’t happen to you. I thought Conor could be killed and those guys were going in to kill him and that’s what I could not have happen.”

Read Martin’s full account right here.

While McGregor might be appreciative of how his fellow countryman dashed in for the rescue, the promotion appears to have frowned on Martin’s actions. Call it liability, call it oneupmanship, but either way, the end result was a lifetime ban from UFC events.

And Martin will not go quietly.

“This ban is not just a ban on attendance, it’s a ban on protecting others from violent physical assault, it’s a ban on peacekeeping, it’s a ban on doing the right thing,” he wrote on Instagram. “In the spirit of the bigger picture and to set a clear and proper example to the attendees that they should under no circumstances enter the Octagon, I accept the ban. But under the circumstances that once it is lifted, I get the seat of my choice for the next Conor McGregor card.”

Sure, he can have the seat right next to Oscar de la Hoya.