MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American mixed martial arts fighter Leomana “Manaboi” Martinez will return under the bright lights of the big numbered UFC events when UFC 285 descends on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sunday, March 5.
Martinez (10-3-0) will face South African Cameron Saaiman (7-0-0) in a bantamweight match in the preliminary matches.
“This training camp, I worked some more on my stand up game,” said Martinez who worked with Bob Perez for this camp. “That’s the guy who helped the ‘Knockout King’ (Derrick Lewis) get all those KOs.”
Lewis has 13 knockouts in UFC history, all coming in the heavyweight division.
Fight analysts expect fireworks for the match as both Martinez and Saaiman throw close to five strikes per minute. The South African though rates better in his stand up defense, although Martinez is better on the mat.
“I know he is undefeated,” noted Martinez of his foe. “But even if my three UFC fights have gone the distance (all by decision with two going the Filipino-American’s way), the positive that I can take away is I know I can go the distance.”
“Before coming over to the UFC, I was knocking out opponents in the first and second round so people questioned my stamina and cardio. Well, I have proven I can go all three rounds and I get better as the fight goes on.”
During his amateur days, Martinez went 5-0 with first round knockouts. His final fight before turning professional saw him lose in a unanimous decision.
Prior to joining the UFC, he won eight matches and lost two — one of those losses was via another decision.
“I know it is not cool to leave it to the judges’ scorecards. I am a bit fine with it because you have to look at other positives. On the other hand, I know I can do better.”
“This match against Cameron, I see my hand raised at the end of three rounds.”
UFC 285 will be televised live on the Premier Sports Channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo TV streaming application. Martinez should hit the Octagon around 8 a.m.