Jonathan Martinez

Overview

Ten UFC wins, and not one of them ended in the first round. Jonathan Martinez, "Dragon," is a southpaw bantamweight from Los Angeles who fights out of Ohana Academy, and he is a 10-5 UFC fighter who gets his work done late. Four of his wins came by KO/TKO, all in the second or third round, and the other six went to the scorecards.

He carries a two-fight losing streak into his next fight, both by unanimous decision. His longest winning streak in the UFC is six.

His career comes down to this: accurate, durable and patient, but rarely quick to close the show.

UFC Career

Martinez debuted in October 2018 with a unanimous decision loss to Andre Soukhamthath, then won his next two: a decision over Wulijiburen at UFC 234 and a third-round TKO of Pingyuan Liu in July 2019. A split decision loss to Andre Ewell at UFC 247 followed.

From there he put together the run that defines his UFC career. Frankie Saenz was stopped in the third round, and Thomas Almeida went the distance. A second-round TKO loss to Davey Grant in March 2021 is the only time he has been finished in the UFC. He then won six straight, starting with decisions over Zviad Lazishvili, Alejandro Perez and Vince Morales.

The back half of that streak is where it got interesting. He stopped Cub Swanson in the second round in October 2022, beat Said Nurmagomedov by decision, and knocked out Adrian Yanez in the second round in October 2023. Our model rated all three as strong opponents.

Then came Jose Aldo at UFC 301, an elite-tier opponent, and a unanimous decision loss. Marcus McGhee followed at UFC 309, another unanimous decision loss.

Six wins in a row, then two losses that went the full fifteen minutes. He is still hard to put away.

Fighting Style

The striking numbers are good. Martinez lands more per minute than most UFC fighters and does it accurately, and he defends better than average. He absorbs strikes at around the UFC average, so he isn't winning by being untouchable, just by being the more efficient striker.

The grappling data points the other way. He rarely shoots for takedowns and rarely hunts submissions, and he has none in the UFC. But he is very hard to take down.

The finish pattern fits: four knockouts, all in rounds two and three, none in round one. Six of his ten wins came on the scorecards, and four of his five losses did too. He is a fighter who sets a pace and wins the rounds, and his finishes come once he has done that work.

Notable Wins

• Cub Swanson — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araujo (2022)
• Adrian Yanez — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza (2023)
• Said Nurmagomedov — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Bantamweight
• UFC record: 10-5
• Professional record (all promotions): 19-6-0
• UFC debut: 2018
• Stance: Southpaw
• Height / reach: 5'8" / 70"
• Team: Ohana Academy
• Born: Los Angeles, CA, United States