Bantamweight is the gift that keeps on giving, with yet another
excellent fight at 135 pounds. Of no blood relation to Khabib
Nurmagomedov and his kin, Said
Nurmagomedov is much more in the style of Zabit
Magomedsharipov as compared to the rest of the UFC’s Dagestani
contingent. Long for the bantamweight division, Nurmagomedov would
mostly like to keep his opponents at bay with an impressively quick
kicking game from range. That has been enough to carry Nurmagomedov
against a lot of competition, but he can also hold his own in close
range. Wins over both Cody
Stamann and Saidyokub
Kakhramonov have seen him find sudden success with what is
quickly becoming a signature guillotine choke. Nurmagomedov plays
an interesting inside-outside game, but there is the sense that
someone able to shut down one phase of his approach can bring the
whole thing crashing down. This time, Martinez steps up to the
task. For a while, Martinez was on the shortlist of the most
anonymous fighters on the UFC roster. Possessing an unspectacularly
well-rounded style and without a particularly big personality,
“Dragon” chugged along on the prelims for a few years before
getting the call as Thomas
Almeida’s comeback opponent in 2020. The Factory X rep got the
win in a fight most notable for Almeida’s poor performance—it
essentially marked the end of the former top prospect’s time as an
effective fighter—but it gave Martinez enough profile to at least
factor into the UFC’s plans going forward. Naturally, Martinez then
got surprisingly knocked out by Davey Grant
in his next performance, but he has rebounded with four straight
wins, capped by an October victory over Cub Swanson
that served as a true breakout. Leg kicks have been an important
part of Martinez’s game, but the win over Swanson saw him use them
as the backbone of a complete performance, showing some newfound
aggression and eventually chopping down the respected vet. That is
the type of showing that makes this fight much more interesting.
Prior to that, Martinez figured to be a tough out but also too
static of a fighter to make much hay against Nurmagomedov’s quick
and movement-heavy style. Nurmagomedov still gets the nod as the
rightful favorite, but if Martinez finds some early success landing
some damage to the Russian’s legs, there is the chance he can use a
hot start to slow him down and change the shape of the fight. The
pick is Nurmagomedov via decision.
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