Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 35 features an exciting main event in kickboxers Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze squaring off at featherweight. Also on the card are the TUF 29 finals, where we will see a middleweight and a bantamweight crowned the Ultimate Fighter. And Kevin Lee is back up to welterweight, going against Daniel Rodriguez. Bantamweight Mana Martinez was supposed to fight last week against Trevin Jones but had to pull out. Guido Cannetti (8-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) was supposed to fight Mario Bautista but a positive COVID-19 test forced him to pull out, allowing Martinez to step in.
Mana “Manaboi” Martinez
Standing at 5’9″
Fighting at 135 lbs (bantamweight)
25-years-old
Fighting out of Houston, Texas, US
Training out of Metro Fight Club
A pro record of 8-2
8 KO/TKOs
How will Martinez fare in the UFC:
Martinez is an excellent prospect and someone I like a lot. It’s a shame because his two losses to Drako Rodriguez and Dulani Perry don’t do him justice. He’s actually much better than those two. Martinez has only fought one opponent with a losing record and has a win over TUF 29 finalist Ricky Turcios.
“Manaboi” is a legit all-around threat on the feet. He can out-kickbox guys, out-point them, and box them up. On the feet, Martinez is a tactical, precise striker. He picks his shots, and counter striking is something he’s superb at. His 100% finish rate all by KO/TKO justifies how good his stand-up is. Martinez goes body-head actively and will attack with leg kicks. He’s a sniper on the outside and a combination boxer on the inside. In grappling he holds his own. I haven’t been able to see much of his offensive jiu-jitsu but of what I’ve seen he’s pretty slick.
Overall at his age he’s going to be a real threat in the future. If he can tighten up his takedown defense and work off his back he will be a complete fighter.
Fighter comparison in the division: Adrian Yanez
Striking: A
Kickboxing: A-
Clinch: C+
Wrestling: C-
Grappling: C
Striking Defense: B
Takedown Defense: C
Cardio: B-
Biggest Strength: Striking
Biggest Weakness: Grappling defense
How he matches up with Cannetti:
I’ve seen a few people high on Cannetti in this fight but honestly I can’t see a reason why. Cannetti is 41, has lost his last two, hasn’t won a fight since 2018, and his two UFC wins are against lesser competition really. I can’t see Martinez losing this and I can’t see him not being able to finish this fight. He did miss weight for the fight, but he also recently lost his coach to COVID-19.
