A Conor McGregor fan who managed to jump into the Octagon in the midst of the melee between the entourages of Khabib Nurmagomedov and the Irishman at UFC 229, has been banned for life.
Lightweight Champion Khabib lost his head after tapping out McGregor in the UFC 229 main event, living up to his 'Eagle' nickname by flying over the Octagon to get at his opponent's camp and entering a brawl with them, specifically going after Dillon Danis.
And then before you knew it, Zubaira Tukhugov, a member of Khabib's team, jumped the cage and started swinging at McGregor, who had previously thrown serious shade at the 27-year old on Instagram.
But he wasn't the only one to make his way into the cage. David Martin, a 41-year old from Dublin who moved to America at the age of 21, watched the situation escalate and somehow managed to get close to the brawl.
He even said he spoke to McGregor and tried to calm him down.
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"I was talking to him and I just held onto him and pushed security away with Kavanagh because he didn't want them on him too much, he wanted them to back off a bit," Martin told USA Today shortly after UFC 229.
"I put an arm on Conor and one on the cage and told him to calm down and breathe. My thing was to calm him down - the last thing I wanted was for Conor to go after everyone."
McGregor and Khabib are still awaiting their punishment for the brawl but Martin has had a written letter from UFC telling him he is not welcome at their events in the future.
"If he does show up, he faces "potential arrest" or "prosecution for criminal trespassing".
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"Your actions jeopardized the safety of the athletes, the other event attendees, the Arena employees, and UFC support staff.
"Irrespective of your intentions, you were in violation of both the UFC and Arena protocols and procedures.
"This letter serves as written notification that as of this date, you will no longer be permitted to attend any UFC event hosted at the Arena, or any other arena inside or outside the United States, until further notice."
Martin sent a lengthy response to Hunter Campbell, the UFC's Chief Legal Officer and while he acknowledged what he did was wrong, he claims he felt McGregor was in a "life-threatening situation" and he felt his priority was to protect him.
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Does he deserve the ban?
Sound off in the comments.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA
