COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – After a dominant win over Sergio Moraes earlier this month, Anthony Rocco Martin said the promotion has him on deck for UFC on ESPN 4.
The June 29 card at Target Center in Minneapolis marks a homecoming of sorts for Martin (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who started his career in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” But as always, the devil is in the details.
Martin likes potential matchups with knockout artist Vicente Luque (15-6-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC) or the winner of a fight between Kevin Lee (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and ex-champ Rafael dos Anjos (28-11 MMA, 17-9 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 9 in May. But until he can get someone to sign on the dotted line, he’s in limbo.
“I feel like it’s difficult, because they think that I’m a bad matchup for a lot of fighters, because I’m so well-rounded everywhere,” Martin told MMA Junkie. “There’s not really a specific game you can come in and easily exploit this, and I’ve proven it. I can take a fight anywhere I want, and I think I’m one of the best fighters in the game in every area.
“I don’t think anyone’s itching to fight me because I don’t have the biggest name, but really, the UFC can do whatever the UFC wants to do. So if the UFC wants me to fight someone, I’m going to fight them. So I just need (UFC matchmaker) to tell somebody, ‘Hey, you’re fighting him. If you don’t want to, then you’re gone.’ Then, guess what, I’ll have my fight.”
If he keeps up his current winning streak, which stands at four, Martin sees himself in line for a title shot. And that’s when he’ll stop bugging the UFC to turn up the pressure on other fighters – he’ll be a contender to chase.
For more from Martin, check out the video above.
And for more on UFC on ESPN 4, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
