The featured preliminary card fight at UFC 309 saw bantamweight Jonathan Martinez giving Marcus McGhee a chance to break into the rankings.
Martinez, ranked #13, was looking to bounce back from a loss against the legendary Jose Aldo that had snapped a six-fight win streak. McGhee, like Martinez was previously, came in on a hot tear, having one five straight overall, three under the UFC banner.
The opening round started with both fighters coming out in their southpaw stances and trading kicks for first minute. Martinez was going to the legs, while McGhee was threatening with head and body kicks. While Martinez seemed too shy to engage, McGhee used his boxing advantage to out-strike him and take the round on activity alone.
Martinez came out in round two with more pep to his step, but McGhee was still doing the better work his hands. Even though Martinez started to set up his low kicks better, McGhee wasn’t hobbling around, which allowed him to still stand his ground and counter Martinez’ kicks with his boxing. McGhee isn’t the hardest hitter, but he was still stinging Martinez and the power was enough to force him to reset. These resets by Martinez gave clear openings to McGhee to fire a couple shots and win the round on activity once again, despite a better effort from his opponent.
Round three was a different story as Martinez’ low kicks started to add up. He had McGhee hopping around on one leg on multiple occasions. You would think Martinez, who TKO’d Cub Swanson and Adrian Yanez with leg kicks, was starting to smell blood but he inexplicably opted to clinch and lose precious seconds, allowing McGhee’s leg to recover. Martinez had McGhee retreating for the remainder of the round, but was ultimately unable to find the finish. Who knows how this fight would have played had Martinez been more active in the first round, but credit to McGhee for making him hesitant early.
McGhee took the decision victory, clearly taking rounds one and two, and will now almost certainly enter the rankings on Tuesday. As for Martinez, after a nice win streak, he is now 0-2 in 2024.
Official Result: Marcus McGhee defeats Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
