Jonathan Martinez did not expect to fight the legend Jose Aldo at UFC 301. After all, Aldo retired from MMA at UFC 278 and was a recent inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame. Martinez now has the chance to add a big name to his resume but will have to fight two opponents: Aldo and the Brazilian crowd.
As the child of mixed nationalities, Martinez will have a lot more to fight for against Aldo. Martinez has been training in MMA from age 16. Fourteen years have passed since then. Now, the bantamweight contender will proudly represent his identity on the grandest stage against a legend, as revealed on UFC Embedded.
My mom’s from [El] Salvador…It’s just being in the big stage representing Mexico and Salvadorian. I have both sides. I know where they come from, seeing different things. Showing me up in TV, fighting, representing both flags, it means a lot.
Jonathan Martinez via UFC Embedded
Maria Mendonza, Martinez’s mother, is from San Vicente, El Salvador, while his father, Felix Martinez, is Mexican. Nonetheless, Jonathan Martinez was born in California and later moved to Texas. He trains out of Factory X at high altitudes in Colorado.
Martinez has become one of the exceptional leg kickers in the UFC. Jose Aldo, his opponent, was among the first to employ the technique, though he has changed his style to boxing-centric in recent years. Therefore, the matchup promises to have fireworks at the co-main event of UFC 301.
Jonathan Martinez speaks on fighting Jose Aldo
Jon Jones might have the official record as the youngest UFC champion. However, Jose Aldo was even younger when he became the WEC featherweight champion. At the time, WEC had more elite fighters in the lighter weight classes, from lightweight to bantamweight. After all, Anthony Pettis, Dominick Cruz, and Aldo reigned as WEC champions before they became UFC champions after the merger.
Jonathan Martinez on fighting Jose Aldo (Image via: Instagram)When Conor McGregor dethroned Aldo, it was his first defeat in 10 years. As such, many consider him the greatest featherweight of all time despite facing defeats to McGregor, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski. Nonetheless, Jonathan Martinez has no fear as he will be locked inside the octagon against the legendary Aldo, as revealed on UFC Embedded.
He’s [Jose Aldo] a legend of this [MMA]. He’s real good at kicks and stuff. His hands are good. Everybody says he’s the ‘King of Rio’ but you know his time is up. Now, it’s my turn.
Jonathan Martinez via UFC Embedded
For training with Aldo, Martinez has sought the services of Chris Gutiérrez, a fellow UFC bantamweight who trains at Factory X. Gutiérrez also feels the same as Martinez, as the latter is looking to fight Aldo. Similar is the case for Kru Marc Montoya, the head coach at Factory X.
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