Jonathan Martinez didn’t think Sean O’Malley was going to one day rule over his division.
The rising UFC bantamweight contender didn’t think O’Malley was going to crown himself champion in what’s become one of the toughest divisions in the UFC today. Yet, “Suga” shocked many by stopping a very dominant Aljamain Sterling in the main event of UFC 292 back in August.
Martinez thinks the result speaks to the unpredictability of the sport.
“This sport is very tough, and we got tiny gloves, so anything can happen in this sport,” Martinez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “A bad strike, you bring your guard down for a second, and that’s it. You’re out, and the other guy is the champion. It’s a cockfight. Whoever attacks and lands first is usually going to win. I didn’t see (O’Malley as champion) coming. When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’”
Martinez, who’s on a six-fight winning streak that includes stoppage victories over Adrian Yanez and Cub Swanson, thinks O’Malley is at risk of losing his title, especially if the UFC goes through with the rumored rematch with Ecuador’s Marlon Vera.
“I see that rematch, I think that ‘Chito’ wins that one,” Martinez said. “I’ve never seen Sean fight five rounds, but I can see a lot of heart in ‘Chito,’ and as the fight goes on, he just gets better and better. I think that he can get a stoppage in the fourth round.”
Martinez is an expert leg kicker and is one of just two fighters in UFC history to get stoppage wins by leg kicks. He thinks O’Malley is susceptible to that type of attack, as seen in his first fight against ‘Chito.’
“He’s very tall for the division, so you just don’t have as much meat on your bones, and you have to cut a lot of weight,” Martinez said. “You get some good kicks in there, and you can stop the fight.”
