‘I Just Felt Really Bad’

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Jonathan Martinez did not want to hurt his new buddy.

Martinez picked up a brutal TKO stoppage at UFC Vegas 81 last night (Sat., Oct. 14, 2023) when he battered Adrian Yanez with leg kicks, eventually forcing the referee to halt the fight from inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (watch highlights). Martinez earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his nasty leg kicks.

During the “Featured Bout,” it appeared that Yanez suffered a knee injury due to Martinez’s leg kicks, which sped up the eventual finish in the second round. However, during his post-fight interview with the media, Martinez admitted he felt terrible delivering his fight-ending kicks.

Yeah, man, I just felt really bad,” Martinez told the media. “I kept looking at the ref like, ‘Are you going to stop already? because I think he screamed twice or three times, and I was like, ‘Uh, you know?’ But I just felt bad.”

Martinez did feel like the stoppage was too late but knew he couldn’t stop until the referee pulled him off.

The 29-year-old Bantamweight revealed that he didn’t even really want to fight Yanez because the pair bonded during 2023 International Fight Week.

“When I got [his] name, I wasn’t even excited because I met him during International Fight Week. We were eating brownies together; I showed him pictures of my family, and he was showing me his,” Martinez said. “And then three weeks later, his name came up, and I was like, ‘Ah man, I guess we’re fighting each other.’ We cut weight together. You know, we were fine; we were shaking hands and everything, but he had a job to do, and I had a job to do.”

Martinez is riding a six-fight win streak; within that streak, he has two leg kick TKOs. He will likely move up a spot or two in the Bantamweight Top 15 rankings after the big win at UFC Vegas 81 and has set himself up for a big fight.

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For complete UFC Vegas 81 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.