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The injury, suffered in the first round, and a loss came at the hands of the rising and still undefeated Vitaly Minakov (13-0, KOs) at 'Bellator 97' via 3rd round TKO.
For his upcoming 'Bellator 111' booking, the Greeley native will be taking on the once surging former 'UFC' fighter Lavar Johnson (17-8-0, 15 KOs) as part of the 'Bellator 111' tournament event taking place March 7th.
For his upcoming 'Bellator 111' booking, the Greeley native will be taking on the once surging former 'UFC' fighter Lavar Johnson (17-8-0, 15 KOs) as part of the 'Bellator 111' tournament event taking place March 7th.
Martinez will be looking to avoid dropping back-to-back fights for the first time in his solid 13 bout MMA career as he tries to get back in the win column.
Across the cage, Johnson, an equally dangerous and heavy handed fighter, is on the heels of the third loss in-a-row for the first time in his career.
With so much on the line in addition to the power these guys possess, it should be nothing short of fireworks. That said, it's just another opponent to him.
"Lavar is just another name. Another man who breathes and bleeds like me. It's just another fight man. I'm anxious to get in there and test this hand.
"I am finally 100 percent healed up and Lavar is a great fight for me. He likes to stand up and bang just like me, which makes for an exciting fight and a great opening round. I'm just thrilled to be back in the tournament.”
One of the more notable aspects of Martinezs' evolution over the last few years is his move to Las Vegas, giving himself a chance to train with the likes of BJJ black belt/UFC vet Roy 'Big Country' Nelson and fellow 'Bellator' heavyweight 'King Mo' Lawal.
Not to mention the time logged at the 'Mayweather Boxing Club'.
'The Future Legend' sees the biggest upside to the relocation in the day-to-day quality of training and the abundance of true heavyweight's to spar and roll with.
"Vegas has been great as far as the quality of training goes but it just seems like nobody down here gets along with each other so it kind of had me bugging."
For this trip to the cage, Martinez opted to hold camp at 'ATT' having his coaches at the legendary 'American Top Team' come up with a game-plan for Johnson.
Something he's not worried about.
"I haven't really thought about game plan yet.
"When I get to 'ATT' (American Top Team) I'll allow my coaches to develop that.
"This camp at 'ATT' is f@#$ing legit.
"I promise, you're gonna see a different fighter in me. I'm just gonna go out and do what I do."
Martinez might be capable if a highlight-reel KO at any time, but with the edge in grappling, fans shouldn't be surprised if his slick sprawl-and-brawl and wrestling game are the difference in this one.
Never having a shortage of words and wanting to send a message to his critics, his final thoughts on the big night were few.
"Every fight's big for me because I have a ton of people to shut up.
"Its gonna be a good win."
Check back here for full results from this event.
You can follow Martinez on 'Twitter' using the link below:
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See you at the fights!
