Among the chaos that erupted in the aftermath of Conor McGregor's defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, one man had emerged as something of an unsung hero.

While David Martin is not a name many people will be familiar with, the McGregor fan and proud Irishman showed some extraordinary bravery to make sure his idol was okay.

The 41-year-old was a ringside spectator to the unfolding drama that saw Nurmagomedov vault into the crowd and some of the Russian's team enter the cage and attack McGregor.

On witnessing his compatriots plight, David decided to take matters into his own hands and enter the arena, vaulting over a current UFC double champion in the process.

Martin told USA Today: "I wouldn't say adrenaline took over, 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."

Daniel Cormier is the UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion, he recalled the incident on Monday, but did not know who Martin was.

He said, via The Mirror: "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."

In amongst all the unsavoury accusations being thrown around in the aftermath of this climactic bout, it's nice to find an uplifting story such as this, although it does, once again, call into question the security procedures at UFC events.