LAS VEGAS – Tom Nolan placed a lot of pressure on himself heading into his second UFC bout, but breathed a sigh of relief after picking up his first win in the promotion.
Nolan (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) faced Victor Martinez in the feature prelim bout of UFC Fight Night 241 at the UFC Apex. The Australian caught Martinez (13-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a clean knee to the midsection, leading to the TKO stoppage at 3:50 in the first round of an entertaining lightweight fight while it lasted.
The result marked Nolan’s first UFC win, which came after a disappointing stoppage loss in his January debut. The Dana White’s Contender Series veteran felt his back was against the wall, and felt the pressure of needing to get his hand raised.
“I battled through some adversity,” Nolan explained at a post-fight news conference. “I battled through my own adversity mentally going in. It’s stressful losing your debut, you know? You have to win your second fight. You might get cut or you might get fed a bad fight on short timing. I had all those thoughts going in.
“This is all I do. This is my only way of making money. So for me, it was really make or break for this fight, and that’s a lot of pressure. I think I handled it quite well.”
Nolan, 24, has a natural advantage over most peers in his division, standing at 6-foot-3. The height advantage played into his gameplan against Martinez, but it was ultimately be a knee in close proximity that led to the end of the fight.
“I thought it was going to go longer, to be honest,” Nolan said. “I actually expected a decision or a late, late finish. But I’m happy it’s over early. I don’t get paid for overtime.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.
Tom Nolan: First UFC win was ‘make or break’ moment, relieved to overcome mental adversity
