Brazilian's UFC Mexico rival won three fights in one night before Ultimate opportunity

David Martinez during the media day of the UFC Mexico. Photo: Reproduction Instargam/blackspartan_official

David Martinez makes his UFC debut this Saturday (29) when he faces Saimon Oliveira on the main card of UFC Mexico. Fighting at home, the bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg.) intends to make his efforts worthwhile to attract the attention of the largest MMA organization in the world. Martinez was signed by the promotion through the Dana White Contender Series, after defeating Xavier Franklin by unanimous decision, in October.

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In 2021, David fought in Combate Global and had to fight three times in one brutal night. The tournament included eight promising fighters from the bantamweight division. One of them was former UFC veteran Francisco Rivera Jr., who Martinez faced in the finals.

In his first fight of the night, the 26-year-old knocked Alex Gonzalez unconscious just two minutes into the first round. Martinez then won a unanimous decision against Alan Cantu Garcia before facing Rivera Jr in the final, knocking him out 17 seconds into the second round.

“Fighting three times in one night is really hard. To do that was really amazing. It was one of the best nights of my life,” Martinez told 'MMA Knockout'.

While one-night tournaments are extremely rare in MMA, it wasn’t a completely new experience for Martinez, who had competed in similar kickboxing and karate tournaments before. The Mexican has 11 wins and just one loss in his professional career.