The Story of MMA Fighter Rad Martinez and His Promise

On April 1, 1991, Rad’s father, Richard Martinez, was thrown from his vehicle in an accident in which Richard suffered irreversible brain damage. The traumatic brain injury left Richard in a catatonic state, in which he would have to receive around-the-clock assistance for the simplest tasks. And with the death of Rad’s grandmother, and his brother having the full-time obligations of a family of his own, Rad made a promise to himself and his family to sacrifice a majority of his time to look after his father. With this full-time obligation, Rad finds it difficult to take the time to do what he loves the most, his release: Mixed Martial Arts.

The time that most elite MMA fighters need to train and hone the skills necessary for competition is about 6 to 8 hours per day, almost triple the time that Martinez can donate to the sport. “I’m lucky if I can get away for more than a couple hours,” says Martinez, whose dream is to reach the UFC and compete with the world’s greatest in the lightweight division. Yet his family obligations restrain what could be a very illustrious MMA career.

Traumatic episodes aside, does Rad Martinez even have the skills necessary to be a top level mixed martial artist. Rad is a former Division-I All-American wrestler at Clarion University. In eleven fights Martinez has racked up an eight-fight win streak, nine wins total, four of them coming by technical knockout. With a strong wrestling base, tremendous upside, as well as a die-hard mentality and spirit, who wouldn’t expect Rad Martinez to be a rising star in the world’s fastest growing sport? Martinez is not just an ESPN: “Outside the Lines” exclusive. He is a passionate warrior. Not only is Rad Martinez holding a completely overwhelming promise, but he shows promise as well. Who knows? Maybe we will see him battling it out for the UFC lightweight title against friend and former teammate at Clarion University, Frankie Edgar. The segment from ESPN is below: