When Lucas Martins' phone rang on Jan. 1, he knew right away his manager was trying to pull a fast one on him.
"It was New Year's Day," Martins told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) through an interpreter. "I could not believe my management and the UFC were working on New Year's Day. When they called I thought, 'Is this a joke? This is New Year's Day. No one is working. They are recovering from the celebration."
Only the UFC was working that day, and they were calling with incredible news. Just 16 months into his professional MMA career, Martins (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was getting his shot in the big show.
"When I found out that it was true, I was very happy," Martins said. "When I started fighting MMA, I wanted to be the best. The only way to become the best is to fight in the UFC. It became a goal as soon as I started fighting MMA."
The 24-year-old Martins is a native of Montes Claros, Brazil. His nickname, "Mineiro," is a term used to describe the inhabitants of his home state, Minas Gerais.
"I got the nickname after I started getting some success in Muay Thai," Martins explained. "Brazilian people love to cheer for their country and their city."
That Muay Thai career started some five years ago, and Martins flourished while working with the famed Chute Boxe academy. The lightweight racked up an 18-1 record in amateur and professional contests before trying his hand at MMA, when he was instantly hooked on the new challenge.
"I had some success in Muay Thai, and a lot of people said I should try MMA," Martins said. "After my first MMA fight I knew this is what I want to do."
And he did it quickly. Most databases list him as fighting 10 times in 2012, but he insists it was even more.
"All my fights have been in Brazil, so a lot of them are unlisted," Martins said. "I love to fight. I always say I am going to take some time off after the fight, and the next day I am training again, looking for another fight. I would like to fight 12 times a year if I could."
He'll get to start that run at Saturday's UFC on FX 7 event in Sao Paulo when he meets fellow striking enthusiast Edson Barboza (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC). The two meet on the FUEL TV-broadcast preliminary card prior to the evening's FX-broadcast featured bouts.
It's a stiff challenge on less than three weeks' notice, but one that has Martins excited. When that phone call turned out to be true, the fighter said he didn't even hesitate.
"They told me that it was very short notice to the fight and your opponent is Edson Barboza," Martins recalled. "I said, 'This is an even better way to start the New Year. I do not have to wait very long for my UFC fight, and it's against a very good, exciting fighter like Edson Barboza.'"
Martins enters the fight as a relatively unknown commodity to most MMA fans, but his eight knockout wins are proof that his Chute Boxe lineage is evident in his fighting style. Couple that with Barboza's style, which recently earned him the "Knockout of the Year" award at the 2012 Fighters Only World MMA Awards, and it's not difficult to imagine what type of fireworks the two are likely to provide.
"I train at Chute Boxe, and we train to be very aggressive," Martins said. "I am always looking for the knockout and to fight a very fast pace. This type of style usually does not end in a decision.
"It is a honor to fight Edson. He is very good and tough. I know with both our styles it will make for a very exciting fight. We both will be trying to knock each other out, and this will make the fans very happy."
Martins is happy that New Year's Day call wasn't some type of twisted prank, and he insists he'll have a memorable debut in what looks to be a fan-friendly matchup. He's got a difficult assignment in his UFC debut, facing a fierce striker and doing so on short notice. But Martins isn't worried about any of the perceived hurdles. He believes this is his time to shine, and that Jan. 19 just might be the start of something special.
"It is a fight so anything can happen," Martins said. "I want to be very aggressive, and fast-paced, and I want to make a very exciting fight. I believe if I am very aggressive, that good things will happen. I want to be the UFC lightweight champ.
"I'd like to thank my friends and family, my coaches Diego Lima at Chute Boxe and the Macaco Gold Team and my manager Wade Hampel, as well as all of my training partners, including Felipe Arantes, Thomas Almeida, and Flavio Alvaro. This chance, I love it all
