Radley Martinez (born March 12, 1978) is retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He was signed with

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. ...

, where he competed in their

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division.

Amateur Wrestling Career

Martinez was a standout wrestler in college, competing for

Clarion University Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion, also known as PennWest Clarion, is a public university campus in Clarion, Pennsylvania. Part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the institution was founded in 1867 and offers ...

. While at Clarion, Martinez qualified for the NCAA championships on three occasions. As a sophomore in 2001 with a fourth-place finish at the EWL(Eastern Wrestling League) championships, in 2002 with a second-place finish at the EWL championships and in 2003 with a third-place finish at the EWL championships. In 2003, as a senior he entered the NCAA tournament unseeded but made All American honors when he captured a fifth-place finish. In the fifth place bout he defeated #2 seed Cliff Moore of Iowa by decision 4–0. Martinez ended his career with a 98–27 record.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Martinez made his professional MMA debut in January 2008 and has made a name for himself fighting mainly in the West Coast region. Before signing with Bellator, he amassed an impressive record of 9 wins and 2 losses.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Martinez made his Bellator debut at

Bellator 50 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feather ...

in September 2011, where he defeated Brian van Hoven by decision. He returned to the promotion at

Bellator 62 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so i ...

on the preliminary card against Doug Frey and won via first-round TKO. In the fall of 2012, Martinez entered as a participant in the Bellator Featherweight Tournament. He faced

Nazareno Malegarie Nazareno Malegarie (born May 16, 1986) is an Argentine mixed martial artist, and a two-time BJJ World Champion currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he has ...

in the opening round at

Bellator 76 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Martinez eventually faced

Shahbulat Shamhalaev Shahbulat Shamhalaev (russian: Шахбулат Шамхалаев; born August 27, 1983) is a Russian retired mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Dargin heritage. He competed in the featherweight division for the Bellator Fighting Championshi ...

in the finals of the Season Seven Featherweight Tournament on February 21, 2013 at

Bellator 90 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. Despite winning the first round, Martinez lost the fight via knock out in the second round. Martinez had his retirement fight at

Bellator 114 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight, ...

on March 28 where he defeated Edson Berto by unanimous decision.

Personal life

Martinez was also featured on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'', or also referred to as ''OTL'', is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in mostly American sports on and off the field of play. The primary host of the show is ...

in June 2011. The story covered how Martinez took care of his

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

father while trying to maintain a career in mixed martial arts. Martinez is a good friend and was a college wrestling teammate of former UFC Lightweight Champion

Frankie Edgar Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the L ...

Championships and accomplishments

** Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Runner-Up

Mixed martial arts record

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Travis Marx Travis Marx (born October 25, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's bantamweight division. Background Marx was born and raised in Roosevelt, Utah. He was a three-time state wrestling champion at Union Hi ...

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External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Radley American male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists from Utah American male sport wrestlers 1978 births Living people