There are plenty of UFC athletes who rely on leg kicks as part of their game, like Alex Pereira, Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza, just to name a few. There are also standout moments, like Dustin Poirier’s first win over Conor McGregor, where Poirier chopped down McGregor’s calf before landing the finishing shots upstairs.
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But Martinez’s last couple of wins inside the Octagon are perfect examples of a fighter making low kicks so effective that even when his opponent knows they're coming, they still can’t stop them from having a fight-changing impact.
In his bouts with Vince Morales in 2022 and Said Nurmagomedov a year later, leg kicks certainly played a role in getting his hand raised, but it was his one-sided, dominant performances over Cub Swanson and Adrian Yanez that really opened everyone’s eyes to how debilitating those strikes can be.
Against Swanson, Martinez started the fight with a flurry of high kicks, and it wasn’t until midway through the first round that he started going downstairs. Martinez ended the round with a knee to the head to score a knockdown, then followed up with a knee to the body against the fence to nearly finish the fight.
Late in the second round, Martinez focused on Swanson’s legs, particularly the inside low kick he targeted earlier. With 90 seconds left in the round, Martinez dropped Swanson to his knees with his first leg kick of the second frame. Five seconds later, he did it again. Then, with 45 seconds remaining, Martinez landed the most destructive inside leg kick of the fight, sending Swanson crumbling to the canvas and forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight.
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But Martinez’s last couple of wins inside the Octagon are perfect examples of a fighter making low kicks so effective that even when his opponent knows they're coming, they still can’t stop them from having a fight-changing impact.
In his bouts with Vince Morales in 2022 and Said Nurmagomedov a year later, leg kicks certainly played a role in getting his hand raised, but it was his one-sided, dominant performances over Cub Swanson and Adrian Yanez that really opened everyone’s eyes to how debilitating those strikes can be.
Against Swanson, Martinez started the fight with a flurry of high kicks, and it wasn’t until midway through the first round that he started going downstairs. Martinez ended the round with a knee to the head to score a knockdown, then followed up with a knee to the body against the fence to nearly finish the fight.
Late in the second round, Martinez focused on Swanson’s legs, particularly the inside low kick he targeted earlier. With 90 seconds left in the round, Martinez dropped Swanson to his knees with his first leg kick of the second frame. Five seconds later, he did it again. Then, with 45 seconds remaining, Martinez landed the most destructive inside leg kick of the fight, sending Swanson crumbling to the canvas and forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight.