Adrian Yanez is coming off a round-one knockout loss to Rob Font at UFC 287 after going 5-0 to start his career in the UFC. The Houston product was looked at as one of the top talents on the rise at Bantamweight before his loss to Font and a win against Martinez would go a long way in getting another shot at the top 10.

Jonathan Martinez got the win his last time out in a unanimous decision against Said Nurmagomedov. It was a controversial win nonetheless as many saw Nurmagomedov as the winner but it was the fifth win in a row for the FactoryX prospect. 

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Betting Odds

This one has been a coin flip since the line opened. There’s been slight movement back and forth with Martinez currently settled as the slight favorite:

• Jonathan Martinez -125 (BetUS)
• Adrian Yanez -105 (BetUS)

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Fight Breakdown

Adrian Yanez, 29 years old, is 16-4 as a pro and is the #14 ranked bantamweight in the UFC. Yanez has found most of his success in MMA by relying on his boxing. His left jab is well-timed and he uses it to pull his opponent in and as they try to counter, he dips the head off the center line and fires back with a counter combination of his own. Yanez’s pressure and toughness also play a big role in his game plan as he’s willing to get caught with shots to land his own, rarely put on the backfoot.

The striking of Yanez is always a fun study. It all starts with the left hand from the orthodox boxer. Not only can he utilize the jab to find the range and lure in his opponents to try and counter, but he uses it beautifully as a feint to open up holes for combinations/entries that begin with the right hand. When fighting southpaws that take away the jab, he’s shown to be well-versed at timing the hand fighting of his opponents to land the left hook instead, getting over the arm that’s stifling the jab to still land.

The timing and pace of Yanez’s striking has been a key to a lot of his finishing sequences and most effective exchanges as well. He doesn’t always throw with blistering speed and explosiveness; he likes to come forward and throw with less intent, waiting for his opponent to react. When they try to counter or defend heavily, this is where he’ll turn up the tempo with his shots and fire off two or three powerful shots that often target the body and head. This is paired with his quick in and out footwork that he relies heavily on to get just out of range while keeping himself in position to reset his feet and begin his forward march once again.

One thing that can get Yanez in trouble on the feet is this backward movement when defending. His defense when his opponent blitzes forward is movement oriented and therefore when he isn’t able to completely evade with his head or feet and his opponent’s still in position to throw, he’s often there to be hit at the end of punches or kicks. He’s resilient and often takes this damage with little issue and continues to press the pace, but this wasn’t the case in his most recent bout against Rob Font where he was finished for the first time in his career.

When his opponents are able to keep him on the outside, kicks to the leg seem to be the most effective strikes you can land. He keeps his right hand high with the elbow tight to the rib cage which gives him a good defensive base to block incoming kicks to the body and head from his opponent’s left side, but he isn’t as proficient at checking/evading the low kicks. There are very few fighters in the Bantamweight division that can stand and box with Yanez so utilizing rangier techniques like kicks have been, and will need to continue to be a big part of the game plan of his opponents.

His opponent is the 18-4, Jonathan Martinez. Martinez, also 29, is another technical striker but unlike Yanez’s boxing-oriented style, he finds his success with a Muay Thai style of kicks, elbows and knees. He uses the left kick as his main weapon while reading his opponent’s intentions when they attempt to close the distance and counters accordingly.

Easily the best weapon for the southpaw Martinez is his left kick. There’s something different to the way those FactoryX fighters throw leg kicks and Martinez is amongst the best at it. His kicks are extremely quick with little tell but land with so much impact that you’d think he’s winding up with everything he has. Though he’s had the most success, his head and body kicks seem to land with similar power.

The footwork and timing of Martinez are the main reasons he’s found so much success in kicking range. He does a beautiful job of gauging distance to know when he’s exited the range of his opponent’s punches while still being in range to land kicks. He’s very aware of his distance at all times as well; even in chaotic flurries or clinches, he often fires the left kick to the body as his opponent works to get out of range and lands it perfectly.

Other aspects of Martinez’s striking that make him so dangerous are his reads and counters. While he isn’t the most impressive with his hands, he’s great at timing his opponent’s entries and reading their head movement to know what shots to throw when they do attack. A prime example comes against Cub Swanson; Martinez identified that Cub was dipping his head to the right as he blitzed in so he started countering with the upward elbow from his left side. As this becomes less effective and misses high, he quickly changes the strike he uses to time Cub’s entries to the left uppercut which chambers lower and meets Swanson’s chin as he comes in.

Though he’s looked great at finding the right one-shot counters for situations, he doesn’t fare as well when his opponent stays aggressive and continues to land in the pocket. Martinez’s hands are quick but they aren’t super tight when he’s forced into firefights and his chin is often left open. You see him get caught with some good strikes in these exchanges where his striking arsenal is limited. He does have a strong clinch which slows the striking pace down and allows him to reset the situation and even look for takedowns if he feels the need.

The grappling of Martinez has been used mainly defensively but has been sharp. Averaging just 0.46 successful takedowns per 15 minutes, he doesn’t try to take the fight to the ground often. Instead, he likes to work for control along the fence with underhooks and good head position under the chin of his opponent. Off his back, he excels at finding reversals and working back to his feet. 

Pitting the Muay Thai style of Martinez against the aggressive boxing of Yanez is top-tier match-making by the UFC. Both excel in areas that pose a real threat to the style and skill set of one another. Martinez’s left kick from southpaw could really eat up the front leg of the forward-pressing Yanez, hindering the movement and base of the boxer. When Martinez is forced into the pocket, he has the strong clinch game that could temporarily neutralize the pressure of Yanez and great knees that could catch Yanez when he dips his head as he often does when entering and defending.

For Yanez, he pushes a pace that has shown to affect Martinez negatively. Against Said Nurmagomedov, he was bothered by the diversity and volume of strikes that Nurmagomedov threw at him and began to reach with his hands to try and defend, leaving him open for the follow up shots. Though Yanez may not have the striking arsenal of Said, he marches forward and uses tons of feints to draw out reactions and attacks the openings in the defense that Martinez may begin to present as he gets more uncomfortable. If Yanez is able to get inside of Martinez’s kicking range and force the fire fight, he has much cleaner boxing and plenty of finishing power.

Prediction

The oddsmakers know how close this one is going to be with the line opening and, for the most part, staying at even. I think there’s a good path to victory for both guys, however, I think Yanez has a slightly better chance. With his pace and finishing power in the hands, he’s got a shot to finish the fight at any point over three rounds. While Martinez is powerful, he doesn’t pose the same one shot knockout power outside of the head kick (which Yanez defends very well) and knees. 

If Martinez is going to find success with the kicks, I believe it’ll be to the leg. As long as Yanez doesn’t stop coming forward and lands his own punches, the judges have (for better or for worse) consistently favored damage to the head over damage to the leg, barring a near TKO from leg kicks. To me, this gives Yanez an upper hand, albeit slight, if the fight goes to the cards while being a threat to finish the fight at any point. I wouldn’t be surprised by either man pulling it off but with coin flip odds, I’m taking Yanez.

Prediction: Adrian Yanez to win (-108)

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The post Adrian Yanez vs. Jonathan Martinez prediction | UFC Fight Night 230 appeared first on The Body Lock.

Said Nurmagmodedov (17-2; 6-1 in the UFC) is riding a 4-fight win streak, having beat fringe ranked opponents in 3 of those 4 fights. His opponent here, Jonathan Martinez (17-4; 8-3 in the UFC) is also riding a 4-fight win streak coming into his fight, and, with significant confidence given his devastating finish over UFC veteran and fan favorite, Cub Swanson.

Both Said and Martinez are overlooked, dangerous fighters who have fight-ending capabilities wherever the fight goes, making this bout a likely candidate for FOTN and one where the winner certainly will get a ranked opponent next.

Said Nurmagomedov opened around a -200 favorite but has since climbed to -260 against Jonathan Martinez.

• Said Nurmagomedov: -260 (MyBookie)
• Jonathan Martinez: +200 (MyBookie)

Said Nurmagomedov, unrelated but friends to Khabib, resembles the style of the potential title-contending featherweight and training partner, Zabit Magomedsharipov. To understand this style is to first, comprehend that it is a strike-first mentality, and second, not understand the striking at all. Meaning, Said’s most dangerous weapon on the feet is his unpredictability.

Diving a bit deeper into the unorthodox striking of Said, he typically uses a heavy amount of kicks to all levels of his opponent as well as a plethora of spin-oriented attacks which is quite effective given his elite understanding of technique, distance, footwork, and most importantly, timing. Moreover, Said is able to throw a significant amount of spinning attacks given he has strong cardio and is extremely comfortable turning at the risk of getting taken down, knowing his strong grappling will allow him to cause a scramble, and once done, he will win the exchange.

This ability to win scrambles and implement effective grappling was needed in his last fight against the very underrated talent of Saidyokub Kakhramonov. In that fight, Said was got taken to the mat 5 times on 12 attempts and was looking like he was on his way to losing against the well-rounded and strong wrestling opponent of Kakhramonov. But, knowing his opponent would continue to shoot takedowns as the fight progressed, Said timed a scramble perfectly whereby he was able to get an angle and secure a difficult submission. The way in which Said went about winning this fight can be looked at as desperation by haters, but for someone who appreciates the breadth of MMA, it truly showcases how elite Said is, given he can be extremely dangerous against average strikers and equally dangerous to non-elite grapplers. Altogether, Said is a problem for almost everyone to go against and is someone that continues to get overlooked as one of the elite prospects in the division.

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Being overlooked in the hyper-talented bantamweight division can be applied to Jonathan Martinez as well. On the surface, much of the same reasoning why Said is a problem can be stated for Martinez, given he has dangerous attributes on the feet and has proven to have effective grappling when needed. Specifically, he has a devasting left leg kick out of the southpaw position, where he can land ear-numbing kicks to the body if his opponent mirrors the southpaw stance or will land damaging outside calf kicks if his opponent stands orthodox. What makes his kicking game so effective is not only the damage he lands with but also the combination of speed and timing, meaning, the moment his opponent is vulnerable to a kick, Martinez is locked and loaded to throw that kick.

As we have seen with other kick-focused fighters such as Giga Chikadze, many opponents want to crash the distance and make the striker grapple. If done against Martinez, he has shown that taking him down is no easy task, and if taken to the mat, he can get back to his feet. The issue is that while he has checked most boxes thus far, he has not had the same level of talent faced as the likes of Said and many of the other ranked-caliber fighters. This point of contention is not “fair” for him given he can only fight who he is told to fight, but when you add this point to the fact he has been taken to the mat and he has been hit cleanly, with damage, against average to above average strikers, then the perceived ceiling of his may be a fringe ranked level. With all that said, I am a massive fan of his style and would not be shocked if he continues to evolve given his young age, and if done, he does have the striking and demonstrated grappling to see a similar rise as the aforementioned Giga Chikadze.

Prediction and Betting Guide

Early in the fight, I expect it to look like a kickboxing bout. Jonathan Martinez will be more than happy to throw his left leg kick accompanied by a down-the-barrel left hand against the unorthodox Said; and, Said will be more than happy to utilize footwork, find angles, and land powerful strikes against the somewhat hittable Martinez.

But, the moment one finds success over the other, I do expect the fighter getting the lesser end of the exchanges to shoot a takedown, and this is will Said will truly separate because if he shoots, he has more than enough offensive wrestling to get the fight to the ground and win by mauling fashion, and if Martinez shoots, Said has the demonstrated submission ability to find a finish.

All in all, this fight is Said’s to take and I do expect him to look impressive in doing so whether it be a grinding, mauling fashion on the mat for all 15 minutes or a sudden submission victory.

Pick: Said Nurmagomedov Double Chance Sub/Dec (-170)

The post Said Nurmagomedov vs. Jonathan Martinez prediction | UFC Vegas 71 appeared first on The Body Lock.

Regardless of the rationale, Jonathan “Dragon” Martinez will look to spoil Swanson’s entrance into the division. Only 28 years old, Martinez has already racked up a 7-3 UFC record and has won three in a row by decision ahead of Saturday night.

Betting Odds

Martinez opened as a slight favorite and has grown, most notably at the beginning of the week, to a larger than 2:1 favorite.

• Jonathan Martinez: -210 (BetUS)
• Cub Swanson: +180 (BetUS)

Fight Prediction

Martinez is a lengthy fighter with springy reflexes, quick combinations, and the ability to kick like thunder. As he’s cut his teeth in the UFC, Martinez has proven that his kicking game as devastating as it is impressive. Whether he’s chopping an opponent’s leg, cracking their ribs, or precisely snapping his foot to the temple, Martinez rarely telegraphs his shots and nearly always lands with emphasis. Standing at range with the southpaw is a poor decision. Martinez is happy to move laterally along the outside of the black line in the cage, strike enough with his hands to create an opening, and take apart his opponent with his left leg. Martinez fights with consistent volume, power, and a newfound precision that only amplifies his attacks’ effectiveness. Defensively, though, Martinez has struggled. Specifically, Martinez struggles against pressure fighters who are able to crash distance, trap him against the cage, and take away Martinez’s kicking game and movement. When forced to box while stationary and in too close of proximity to kick, Martinez tends to shell up and absorb combinations. His high guard and reflexes often allow him to survive in these exchanges but as they happen more in the fight, Martinez has taken the risk of dropping his hands to try and counter. In these moments, Martinez can be clipped and dropped. Martinez’s defensive grappling is similar to his striking defense- against persistent attacks, he can survive but rarely can he successfully counter position. Despite a path to victory for his opponents, pressure, Martinez has continued to find success in his quick and powerful range striking. An opponent has to survive Martinez’s range attacks if they want to get in tight. Easier said than done.

Swanson is one of the few old-guard fighters who still revert back to old-school UFC when that style of fight, bite down on the mouthpiece and swing, is a viable path to victory. What makes Swanson so unique, and why he’s still a tough fight at 38 years old is that he’s continued to add layers to his game. “Swang and bang” fights are likely his best path to victory as Swanson has high-level power, presumably even more pronounced in a smaller weight class, and a stone jaw that can still take a clean shot. The primarily effective additional layer that Swanson has added to his game is clinch wrestling. “Killer” has always been a pressure forward fighter who can win in a brawl. But, with his newfound willingness to clinch after a heavy exchange, Swanson has proven an ability to win important seconds or even minutes at the end of rounds, often tipping an even round in his favor. With this new layer, Swanson’s typical game plan is to box at range, crash distance and push his opponent back to the cage with a heavy combination, then clinch wrestle. This method has resulted in several rounds and fights won. However, Swanson has struggled during the transition periods of fights, even when he’s implementing his game plan. At range, before the inevitable combination rush forward, Swanson has regularly been pieced up by leg and body kicks, hurting him early and taking away his base and cardio. Further, after the clinch separates, Swanson has been slower to react, often getting caught cleanly on the break. His toughness and durability have helped him survive these transitional exchanges; but, moving down a weight class creates questions around that durability. He’ll either need to avoid kicks at range or prove Father Time wrong by being able to still absorb them and pressure forward.

Prediction

In a fight where both men possess the skillset necessary to exploit their opponent’s weakness, I side with the underdog and fighter with more experience in implementing winning game plans. Martinez could kick Swanson into another dimension but I like Swanson to crash distance early and clinch late in rounds to nullify Martinez’s kicking game and movement. So long as Swanson doesn’t look awful on the scales, give me the underdog veteran to win with pressure and experience.

Pick: Swanson to win (+180 underdog at BetUS)

The post Prediction: Cub Swanson vs. Jonathan Martinez | UFC Fight Night 212 appeared first on The Body Lock.

Betting Odds

Martinez opened as a respectable favorite and has only grown from there.

• Martinez: -220 (BetUS)
• Morales: +175 (BetUS)

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Breakdown

As a striker, Martinez is an exciting and technically sound fighter. He has an extremely kick heavy attack, springy reflexes, and quick boxing combinations. Martinez is at his best when he walks forward, leads with his cracking calf kick, and pushes an aggressive kickboxing approach. While moving forward, Martinez is adept at mixing up his punches and kicks with fluidity and timing. When “Dragon” is the one leading the dance, his striking is effective and dangerous. But, when an opponent forces Martinez to strike off his back foot, he struggles. This is because so much of his striking game is kick-dependent and it is difficult to land kicks while moving backward. Furthermore, when he fights moving backward, Martinez will often throw an ill-advised and poorly setup counter shot that can leave his chin exposed. A chin that he carries high while on defense. If a wrestling match ensues, Martinez has solid takedown defense. He uses his length and quick-twitch muscles well to post or spring up back to his feet. Once down, though, Martinez has been controlled in fights. When Martinez is the one moving forward, he looks impressive and often wins. But, when he faces someone with the pressure capable of pushing Martinez backward or to the mat, “Dragon” has struggled to respond.

Morales has a well-rounded and complete game. His boxing is fundamental and his right hand carries some power. His kicking game is minimal but he is able to land calf kicks to keep range. When wrestling, Morales is more likely to engage a clinch against the cage, hold position, and look to grind the fight down rather than shoot for a takedown. Once on the mat, Morales can hold position again, but rarely finds the finish. Offensively, “Vandetta” is typically a counter puncher who looks to neutralize his opponent’s primary attack and respond with the alternative option. The issue with this game plan, and subsequent reason for his .500 UFC record, is that creative and varied strikers can take advantage of the passive approach from Morales. With an arsenal of striking attacks, Morales’ strategy of neutralizing his opponent can fail.

Prediction

While a blueprint exits to beat Martinez, I don’t see Morales being able to successfully implement it. Morales does not have the striking chops to push Martinez back and does not have the wrestling base to take the more athletic Martinez down. Morales does have a chin and solid cardio so I like him to last 3 rounds but lose each one. Look for Martinez to capitalize on Morales’ struggles with checking calf kicks on his way to a clear decision win.

Prediction: Martinez to win by decision

The post Prediction: Jonathan Martinez vs. Vince Morales | UFC Fight Night 206 appeared first on The Body Lock.

With all the nerds out there watching tape and breaking down fighters’ techniques using tried and tested methods, I thought it would be a lot cooler to use novice-like intuition, random bits of trivia, and stuff I read on the internet as a way to predict the outcomes of fights. Yes, Joaquin Buckley’s crazy knockout of Impa Kasanganay was incredible, but it will never undo the fact that Ross Pearson was knocked out by a Rolling Thunder last year on the regional scene. He will have to live with that shame forever.

Today we’re breaking down the Ortega vs. Zombie main card. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @AllDayAuger, and like and subscribe to The Body Lock’s YouTube channel. It’s important because I need a platform for these amazing insights and adoring fans to satiate my hubris.

1 out of 5 is a rough start after being back from the break. Then again, I did call for a dude to win via disqualification, so maybe if you’re reading this you take a step back and wonder if I’m actually trying to predict the winners of these fights with any sort of accuracy. Just some food for thought.

We saw that people were happy we stopped doing the half-article/half-video breakdown, so we’re gonna be doing a full article this week and we’ll add in some videos for fun in addition to this in a week or two. Again, thanks for making me do more work.

Let’s dive in!

Thomas Almeida vs. Jonathan Martinez

After almost three years on the shelf, Thomas Almeida is making his return to the octagon against Jonathan Martinez. A highly touted 20-0 prospect before getting knocked out by Cody Garbrandt back in 2016, Almeida’s career has taken a bit of nose dive since that first loss, with “Thominhas” going 1-2 in his last three bouts. Having been sidelined with an eye injury that required surgery, the 29-year-old Brazillian will be looking to make a statement in his return that hopefully doesn’t sound like a plea to the UFC that he should keep his job.

Jonathan “Dragon” Martinez on the other hand will be looking to build some momentum off of Almeida’s name. The 26-year-old was last seen landing a flying knee knockout against Frankie Sanez this past August, rebounding back from a close split decision loss to Andrew Ewell at UFC 247. This will be Martinez’s third fight in 2020, with his entire five-fight UFC career taking place while Almeida has been out injured.

This is a tough one because both guys have three losses to their name and while Almeida once had the hype train behind him, those days are long gone. While I’m inclined to give “Thominhas” the edge here, Martinez has been consistent with losing a fight after two consecutive wins. Seeing as how “Dragon” needs another win here to keep that pattern, it looks like Almeida’s career is destined to decline further.

Martinez via R3 TKO

Claudio Silva vs. James Krause

Bumped up to the main card following a contract dispute between the UFC and PFL over some dude named Ante Delija, Claudio “Hannibal” Silva will take on “The” James Krause in a welterweight scrap that has little ramifications. Silva has not lost a bout since his professional MMA debut all the way back in 2007, though he ends up fighting once a year at best. Krause was riding a nice 5-fight win streak before Trevin Giles pulled the ol’ “My friend’s a judge!” routine and stole a split decision win over “The” at UFC 247.

This is another short-notice bout for Krause, who ended up paying the price last time out albeit via nefarious circumstances. It was also recently brought to light that Krause is currently coaching 13 other UFC fighters, meaning his attention is most certainly divided between his own training and becoming the next Duane Ludwig. Silvia has beaten some recognizable guys in his day, including forever contender Leon Edwards, but I’m also pretty sure he just does this as a side gig given how active he is inside the cage.

After careful review, I think deep down “The” is just trying to get into that Duane Ludwig spot as quickly as possible. The easiest way for him to do that is to go out and lose by close split decision again and get so fed up with the process that he’ll hang them up. As Luke Rockhold once said, “Conceive, Believe, Don’t Actually Achieve—just go be a model bro.”

Silva via Unanimous Decision

Jimmy Crute vs. Modestas Bukauskas

In a light heavyweight matchup that might not end up sucking, Jimmy “The Brute” Crute takes on Modestas “The Baltic Gladiator” Bukauskas. Crute is coming off of a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk, while Bukauskas got a  first-round retirement victory over Andreas Michalidis this past July. Both men seem to follow the “Finish or be finished” mantra of combat sports, as it’s only gone to the judges four times in their combined 25 professional bouts.

With Modestas’s nickname relying on the recognition of the Baltic states as being independent countries, this whole fight is going to come down to whether or not Crute was a fan of the Whitlam government in the 1970s. If Crute didn’t recognize the Baltic countries incorporation into the Soviet Union and sees Bukauskas as a fighter who resisted communist rule, then he’ll take him seriously and should get the finish here. If Crute favored Labor during that time period and thinks that the Baltic countries only regained their independence following the Soviet Union’s collapse in late 1991, then he’ll probably think that “The Baltic Gladiator” is a pushover from a country who has only been independent for around 30 years. That type of overconfidence will get him finished.

Given that Crute’s nickname is “The Brute” I doubt he’s given the subject much thought, but I don’t’ see him favoring Whitlam. I think that he gets it done here in the first round.

What’s that? This has been a really out there tangent that wasn’t even that funny?

Yeah well, too bad. You already read it.

Crute via R1 TKO

Jessica Andrade vs. Katlyn Chookigan

In the newly promoted co-main event, Katlyn Chookagian takes on Jessica Andrade to determine who Valentina Shevchenko gets to beat up next. Andrade has decided that a third weight class is the charm after losing a close split decision to Rose Namajunas, making her 125lbs. debut. “Blonde Fighter” is riding high after defeating the older Shevchenko sister this past May, in retaliation for getting beat down by “Bullet” at UFC 247 (Man that PPV comes up a lot in this one huh?).

Neither fighter gives any obvious insights in the way of MMA math here, but if you dig deep enough you can glean a couple of gems. Chookagian has been winning one fewer bout in between losses consistently, picking up four victories after her first defeat against Liz Carmouche, then only three before falling to Jessica Eye, etc. Meanwhile, Andrade is on the first losing streak of her career, which creates a new trend despite those losses coming from arguably the two top strawweights in the world right now. Considering “Bate Estaca” was able to hold her own all the way up at bantamweight back in the day, however, I’m guessing “Blonde Fighter” is about to get that beating she was looking for a little early.

Andrade via R2 TKO

Brian Ortega vs. Korean Zombie

In the main event, we have an important featherweight showdown between Brian “T-City” Ortega and Korean “Chan Sung  Jung” Zombie. Ever since losing to Yair Rodriguez by buzzer-beater death elbow, Zombie has come back from the dead with a renewed vigor for knocking out 145 lbs. fighters who stand across from him in the octagon. Having teamed up with coach Eric Albarracin, Zombie hopes to elevate his already scary skill set to that of UFC featherweight champion, while avoiding turning into an awkward cringe-monster like fellow stablemates Henry Cejudo and Paulo Costa.

After nearly two years away from the cage, “T-City” is looking to throw himself back into title contention quickly by taking on the man whose manager he slapped at UFC 248. Ortega was last seen doing his best Korean Zombie impression when fighting then featherweight champion Max Holloway, eating copious amounts of shots to the face while continually moving forward. While that gambit didn’t work out in his favor, He has shown the ability to pull off wild submissions and crazy comebacks, making him dangerous at any point in a fight.

Both guys have beat up Renato Moicano and Frankie Edgar, though Zombie has beaten both up in a faster time. Normally I’d give Zombie a huge boost because this fight card is weeks away from Halloween and thus his nickname powers intensify, but there is another UFC fight card scheduled on All Hallows Eve so it somewhat hurts him here (Really UFC? You couldn’t book him two weeks later so it would be pretty sweet for him to fight on Halloween? Boooo and not the ghost kind). That being said, I honestly think Ortega is going to try and do his best Zombie impression again, and it’s gonna end up working out about as well for him as it did last time.

Korean Zombie via R4 TKO

The post S#*%ty UFC Predictions: Ortega vs. Zombie appeared first on The Body Lock.

“Dragon” picked up a highlight-reel knockout win over Pingyuan Liu during the preliminary portion of UFC Sacramento. Martinez landed a vicious knee in the third round to put a stop to the action and pick up the biggest win of his career to date.

After losing his short-notice UFC debut to Andre Soukhamthath at UFC Fight Night 138 in October, Martinez picked up his first UFC win when he defeated Wuliji Buren via unanimous decision at UFC 234 in February. With a little more experience and wisdom under his belt, Martinez entered the Octagon on Saturday night and delivered an emphatic finish — one he was watched quite a bit.

“Honestly, (I’ve watched it) a lot,” Martinez told The Body Lock. “My girl will be like, ‘You don’t get bored?’ and I’ll just smile at my phone (shaking my head). It looks fake to me. I used to watch UFC  watch all the videos and looking at all of them. Now I just look at myself and it’s pretty cool.

“It kind of looked like (I was) a superhero. You’re just like, ‘Damn, that looks pretty good.'”

Liu, who trains at Team Alpha Male, entered the contest as the hometown favorite, and also with a 10-fight winning streak that began over six years prior. Liu entered the UFC last year, picking up back-to-back victories over Damian Stasiak and Martin Day in his quest to climb the bantamweight rankings. Martinez was well aware of what Liu brought to the fight and, while it wasn’t at the top of his mind to thwart Liu’s plans and current winning streak, it was a cherry on the proverbial sundae.

“It was good because I knew he had a lot of wins,” Martinez said. “I didn’t have any pressure or anything like that. I just knew I had to go in there and do my job. I trained hard for this. I would get beat up in the gym all the time. So I didn’t feel any pressure at all, I just felt great.”

Finding calmness and clarity at Factory X

Following his UFC debut, Martinez made the move to Factory X in Colorado to train under the tutelage of Marc Montoya. With the change, Martinez has felt more and more comfortable in and out of the Octagon. As a soft-spoken member of the UFC roster, the 25-year-old felt more relaxed than he ever has when he entered the cage Saturday night.

“When I started training at Factory X, I felt a lot more comfortable going in there,” Martinez said. “This one, I was really calm. I walked in the cage and it was like nothing, like it was just a sparring day. I felt pretty good.”

The trust and belief Martinez has found in the coaching staff at Factory X has certainly helped him tap into his potential on another level. While a majority of fighters are locked into what is happening in front of them, Martinez is able to find clarity with his team on the outside of the cage. It’s never perfect, as Martinez admits, but the game plan would ultimately play out in his favor on Saturday night.

“I kept seeing him, (I’d) throw the jab and he kept leaning down,” Martinez explained. “I heard one of the coaches say he was leaning down. I faked the jab and I threw the knee. Right when I felt him touch it, I saw him move back, it was almost like it was in slow motion. I was like, ‘he’s done.’ I got real excited so I threw a hook and jumped one more. But yeah, it was pretty good.

“I hear my coaches well when they talk to me. In the second round, my coach were telling me to do some stuff and I didn’t listen. I should’ve listened. My leg was hurting and I didn’t trust myself. I could hear everything they say. That knee was something we worked on pretty much the whole time I was up there (at Factory X). We just kept working it over and over again because we kept waiting for him to shoot in to throw it, but he was waiting for me to counter. That’s pretty much what happened.”

‘I was hoping the rest of the fights would go to decision’

Following the win, Martinez knew that his knockout was as impressive as everyone watching believed it to be. With a $50,000 performance bonus potentially in his grasp, Martinez was hoping that the judges sitting cage side at UFC Sacramento would be very busy for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, the last three fights of the night all featured impressive finishes from the likes of Josh Emmett, Urijah Faber, and Germaine de Randamie.

Martinez had begun to accept the fact a bonus may not come his way and that made it all that more satisfying when he received the good news.

“Yeah, I was (watching the rest of the card closely). I was hoping all of the rest of the fights would go to a decision,” Martinez laughingly said. “I kept making jokes saying, ‘hopefully they give me a submission of the night, knockout of the night’. Then they told me I got it and I was excited. I was seeing (Emmett, Faber and de Randamie) get their knockouts and I thought they were bigger than me and the UFC will give it to them. Then my manager told me I got it.”

Tackling the bigger fish in the deep bantamweight division

Following the bonus winning finish, Martinez is turning his attention to some bigger fish in the deep waters of the bantamweight division. Speaking to the media following his victory, Martinez said he has his sights set on Rani Yahya, a submission specialist who is no stranger to having a standup battle. With Yahya having a name and being a perennial top-15 guy in the division, Martinez hopes that matchup can come to fruition in the next few months.

“He’s up there and he likes to brawl, too,” Martinez said of Yahya. “I like people who fight like that. I think it would be an exciting fight so hopefully I get that fight.

“I’d like to get back in there in October. I don’t know what card, honestly. Whatever card is cool with me. Hopefully, I get to fight (Rani).”

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