Ideally, on fight nights, a good fight turns heads on its own. But at times, an uncanny, quirky moment steals the spotlight. One such instance unfolded at UFC Fight Night 116. As it moved toward its conclusion with plenty of attention, a mini-drama drew significant attention. The fact that Daniel Cormier had to step in only added to the moment.

“I’m here with Jackson McVey. Jackson, first UFC victory,” stepping inside the cage, Cormier announced. “How good does it feel?”

His question followed Jackson McVey‘s stunning victory against Sedriques Dumas. Fighting on the preliminary card, the bout between the two middleweights ended in the second round after McVey secured a submission via D’Arce choke.

For McVey, who turned 27 a month ago, it marked a defining moment in his UFC run. A former LFA (Legacy Fighting Alliance) fighter, he made his debut at the UFC last June.

The early stretch, however, did not go his way. After two cancelled bouts, including one against Dumas, he went on to suffer two straight defeats, both ending early in the fights.

Against that backdrop, to claim an outstanding victory, McVey had plenty to build on. But he undercut the moment by making an impromptu but false impression.

“It feels amazing. I got to say it feels tremendous,” he replied, his vowels rounded by a thick Irish burr. “No, in all actuality, though, it feels awesome. Thank you.”

Daniel Cormier‘s experienced ears, however, caught the act.

“You are not Irish, dog. Stop that,” he told McVey.

McVey, however, took it in stride, flashed a smile, and moved on to Cormier’s breakdown of his fight.

By all accounts, it was light-hearted and brief. Even so, quite a few users weighed in with their reactions.

“Now everyone wants to be Irish. Mystic Mac’s influence, I guess,” pinning the GIF of UFC’s most famous Irish fighter ever – Conor McGregor – one wrote.

While another criticized McVey’s accent, saying it was not even close to an Irish accent, another, however, felt Cormier could have let it slide, considering McVey earned the win.

For clarity, Jackson McVey was born in Minnesota, where he grew up with his parents and a brother, before later relocating to St. Louis, Missouri.

With that exchange settled, the focus now shifts to what comes next for the MMA fighter.

UFC Fight Night 116, which featured only two fights ending inside the distance, saw McVey’s win stand out as one of the more notable moments on the card. It showed that the big man, who stands 6 feet 4 inches tall and is nicknamed “The Moose,” can deliver when needed.

However, as he spoke with Cormier, who asked if there was anyone specific he would like to fight next, McVey had a typically quirky response.

“Well, I’m getting married May 30th,” he said. “So maybe sometime after that, you know, sometime in the summer.”

With this performance securing his place on the UFC roster, expect McVey to return soon with a fight that could move him closer to the middleweight top-15 rankings.