It’s not often a UFC fight ends because of leg kicks. The fact Jonathan Martinez did it against a UFC Hall of Famer likely will make it all the more impressive.
Martinez (17-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) finished Cub Swanson (28-13 MMA, 13-9 UFC) with a second-round TKO that came after he landed three kicks to Swanson’s left leg. The first two put Swanson down temporarily. The third was enough to end things at the 4:19 mark of the middle frame.
The bantamweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 212 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The finish from leg kicks was just the 14th in UFC history and came at the expense of Swanson’s highly anticipated move to 135 pounds for the first time in more than 15 years and first time after nearly 30 fights in the UFC and WEC at featherweight.
“I’m real emotional right now. I’ve worked so hard for this, and it’s starting to pay off,” Martinez said in his post-fight interview. “We’ve been working a lot of tools, using elbows and stuff like that if he gets close. I’m trying to get better every day. … I just came in here and I had a job to do.
“I want to get this fight: I know Dominick Cruz is in here. Hopefully he’ll give me that chance.”
Former bantamweight champion Cruz, calling the fights cageside on ESPN+, responded on the air and didn’t rule out the chance of a matchup. Cruz is coming off a head-kick knockout loss to Marlon Vera in August.
“Honorable – this man looked very good,” Cruz said on the broadcast. “Nothing but respect for beating a guy like Cub tonight. Respect. Keep doing your thing, brother.”
Martinez tried to get inside with Swanson early, but slipped. He popped back up and pressed Swanson to the fence for 30 seconds until Swanson broke away. Swanson pushed forward with a combination, then a kick, and Martinez countered with a kick of his own. He drilled Swanson with a couple more kicks toward the body, which Swanson blocked. But less than two minutes in, Swanson shot for a takedown and got it.
Martinez perfectly worked his way out and reversed to get back to his feet. He took Swanson’s neck and threatened with a choke, but broke away and got back to the center of the cage. They traded punches and kicks, but neither appeared to get the upper hand.
They started slinging again in the last 30 seconds, but Martinez finally broke through. He landed a big knee to Swanson’s head that put him on the canvas. He pounced and went hard after a finish, but despite a kick and a bunch of punches, Swanson survived to get to the second round.
In the second, Martinez got Swanson down early and looked for a choke. Up against the fence, Martinez tried to get something done from half-guard, but Swanson defended. Eventually, Martinez got to mount. Swanson gave his back, but then got to his knees midway through the round while trying to work back to his feet.
With about two minutes left, Swanson got his fresh start on the feet and threw some heavy punches. With 90 seconds left, Swanson landed a big kick – but Martinez threw a heavy leg kick right after and put Swanson on his knees. Swanson popped up, but got put back down by another leg kick. A third kick from Martinez once again put Swanson on the canvas in pain. Martinez dove in and landed a few punches, and that was all Herb Dean needed to see.
The 14th leg kick TKO victory in UFC history 🐉
[ @JonathanMyda | #UFCVegas62 ]
pic.twitter.com/GGB3L7N3BB— UFC (@ufc) October 16, 2022
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 212 results include:
- Jonathan Martinez def. Cub Swanson via TKO (leg kicks, punches) – Round 2, 4:19
- Dusko Todorovic def. Jordan Wright via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:12
- Raphael Assuncao def. Victor Henry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alonzo Menifield def. Misha Cirkunov via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:28
- Mana Martinez def. Brandon Davis via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jacob Malkoun def. Nick Maximov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joanderson Brito def. Lucas Alexander via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:02
- Piera Rodriguez def. Sam Hughes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Tatsuro Taira def. CJ Vergara via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:19
- Pete Rodriguez def. Mike Jackson via knockout (knee, punches) – Round 1, 1:33
