Just over a year ago, UFC bantamweight Jonathan Martinez suffered a close split decision loss against Andre Ewell. But last month, he got a little revenge: teammate Chris Gutierrez got the better of Ewell at UFC 258.
As much as MMA is an individual sport, teams are a huge part of it. And Martinez was happy to see his teammate get one back for him.
“That’s pretty good, it was exciting. A good teammate and a best friend, so it was pretty awesome to see that,” Martinez told Cageside Press at this week’s UFC Vegas 21 virtual media day. “He kept telling me that, when he got the call, ‘I’m gonna get him for you.'”
At this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 21, Martinez will look to build on a pair of wins when he takes on Davey Grant. The British fighter has failed to compete on a regular basis, mainly due to injury. But Martinez sees his opponent as both an “exciting fighter” and “a tough fighter.”
“I’m just ready to go out there and show my skills and stuff,” Martinez added.
If he can do that, he’ll need to ensure his weight is on point Friday morning. “I had some issues and stuff, some injuries, but I’m good now. I’ll be making the weight,” he assured reporters Thursday. His last bout had come at 145lbs, one fight prior, his missed the bantamweight limit. But it’s back to 135 on Saturday. And if all goes well, the plan for 2021 is to “just climb the rankings. Top 15, top 10 hopefully, and just keep climbing.”
As to how he gets the job done on Saturday, Martinez wasn’t giving any specific predictions. “My hand raised. I don’t know how, but my hand raised. I trained real hard for this fight, I’m just ready to go out there.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 21 virtual media day scrum with Jonathan Martinez above. The event takes place this Saturday, March 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
