ABU DHABI – Jonathan Martinez beat Thomas Almeida with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the main card at UFC on ESPN+ 38 in Abu Dhabi.
Take a look inside the fight with Martinez, who spoiled Almeida’s return after a layoff of nearly three years.
Martinez on the fight’s key moment
“I started seeing how he was throwing just hooks: straight hook, straight hook. I knew I was going to be a lot faster than him, and I’ve seen a couple of his fights, so I just started throwing my jab more and more.”
Trading shots! 🔄
A quick knee catches Almeida as he delivers a left 😳
[ #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/zPCP7MPMzp
— UFC (@ufc) October 17, 2020
Martinez on beating someone he looked up to
“It was pretty fun. On my Instagram in 2015, I put, ‘Almeida is going to be a world champion one day,’ and I fought him – so it’s pretty good. … I’m a big fan of Almeida. (I) took this fight. My coaches believed in me, so I just went in there and had to get my job done. I’m happy.”
L O A D I N G . . . 🔋
🐉 @JonathanMyda is throwing POWER in RD 3.
[ Tune in on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/4Zlfsb2iVl
— UFC (@ufc) October 17, 2020