Alex Martinez Believes Judges May Have Three-Round War on Their Hands at PFL 4

Atlanta, GA — There was no doubt in Alex Martinez’s mind that he’d be getting a tough out for his second fight of the 2022 PFL season.

At PFL 4 this Friday, he has just that, having been paired up with the durable, hard-hitting Clay Collard. For Martinez, that’s his second straight UFC veteran, after beating Stevie Ray in a unanimous decision earlier this year.

“I was ready to get a tough opponent. I knew they were not going to give me an easy opponent, so I was like, you know what, I was ready for it,” Martinez (9-2, 1NC) told media outlets including Cageside Press during the PFL 4 media day this week. “If they gave me somebody else, it was still going to be a really tough fight. I’m excited for this fight.”

Martinez is always well-prepared for a three-round war, “but I take whatever comes. If the knockout is there, I take it, if the submission is there, I take it.” That having been said, he won’t be surprised if his fight with Collard goes the distance. “Knowing both of us, we both are very durable, very tough, we both will fight til the end; more than likely a three-round war will be on the judges’ hands. But at the same time, I’m very confident in my skills and I think I can get it done in less than three rounds too.”

Two straight fights against UFC veterans says something about how the league perceives Martinez, or so it would seem. The 28-year old agrees.

“They either don’t like me, or they love me! No, I’m just joking,” Martinez exclaimed. “But I think they do believe in me, because the first fight they gave me in PFL was a tough one, the second one was a very tough one, and then even one tougher when it got switched out. I do believe they believe in me, I think I can do it, I believe in myself as well so now we just gotta get the job done.”

Would he be interested in Anthony Pettis, who he was briefly matched up with last year, next? Maybe, but Martinez will fight whoever the league throws his way.

“It’s good exposure, fighting a big name is always good exposure. You beat a name like that and your name all of a sudden becomes— it’s almost like you take over. But at the same time, whatever comes, comes, everything is welcome. I’m ready for it.”

Watch the rest of Alex Martinez’s PFL 4 media day appearance above. Marintez faces off against Clay Collard on ESPN+ this Friday, June 17, 2022 in Atlanta, GA.