Victor Martinez recently emphasized the importance of steady work for fighters.
Martinez has been a certified firefighter since 2018, but never applied for a job, prioritizing his goal of competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. “The Brick” finally punched his ticket to the big leagues with a unanimous decision win over Jacob Rosales on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2021. Martinez was then hired by the Hidalgo Fire Department after his UFC debut in February 2023, and the 32-1-year-old feels things are starting to fall into place for him.
“Hey, I had my firefighter’s license in 2018, but I wanted to focus on competing in the UFC first before I got a job,” Martinez told All-Star. “So I just renewed my license every year and signed with the UFC.” [in] 2021 after Contender [Series]. And I thought, “Okay, I’ve accomplished this goal, I’ll go find a job somewhere else,” and I started applying in different cities, and the Hidalgo Fire Department picked me up. I did. And yeah, I mean, everything fell into place. ”
Martinez suffered a first-round TKO loss to Jordan Leavitt in his promotional debut. He was then scheduled to face Trevor Peake at UFC ABC 5 in June 2023, but he withdrew for undisclosed reasons. Martinez later revealed that his coach advised him to withdraw because he was in the midst of a job search as a firefighter and was also battling a knee injury.
“After my first fight in the UFC, I was trying to get hired somewhere as a firefighter, and my coach said, ‘Don’t move too fast, take a little break and focus on what you need to do. “Keep training, keep preparing, and don’t rush it, I’ll let you know later.” So he ended up pulling me,” Martinez said. Told. “I was preparing for that too. I had a little bit of an injury in my knee as well, so training just caused the injury to flare up.”
Martinez also detailed how having a steady job helps him as a fighter. “The Brick” was clearly obsessed with his paycheck in his UFC debut, which he believes affected his performance. Martinez, who made a living by giving private lessons at the gym, no longer even enjoyed training.
But the job was a huge relief for the Texan as he prepares for his second year competing in the UFC. Martinez will be looking to earn his first win in the promotion against fellow newcomer Tom Nolan at UFC Fight Night 241 on May 18th.
“Before I took this job as a firefighter, I felt a lot of pressure every match, like on the Contender Series,” he said. “And going into my first UFC fight, I felt even more pressure in this fight because I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is my first UFC fight.'” And I didn’t have a steady job. So I was doing private work at the gym and just trying to make some money. And I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, ‘I have to win this match, I have to earn this money’…I wasn’t enjoying training as much. Broke, we have to win the next game, we have to make it happen, then we can get this cash and be good for a while. ‘And my number one goal is my mom, I’m always trying to help my mom, that’s been my main goal…and like I said, when it adds up, in the fight… And I froze. I’m moving on to my next job, but I don’t have to worry about that because I’m more stable in this job now. I actually enjoy training. Now I really like going to training. ”
