Adriano Martins Says He’s Learning From His Losses

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Adriano Martins (22-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) said he learned from his only loss in the past four years (a KO loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 10 in January 2014). Since then he’s had two wins, including a split decision over Rustam Khabilov in February. He will fight Islam Makhachev (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC 192 on the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card. Here are highlights:

On learning from his loss to Cerrone: “I don’t think I was ready for that fight. He was much more experienced. I didn’t yet feel at home in the promotion. But one also grows from losses; good things also come from them.”

On fighting Makhachev: “Because I fought Russians before, he has pretty much the same style: come forward and try to take you down. But I trained really hard for this fight, and I’m ready. Makhachev is similar to Khabilov, but he has some important differences. He likes to get takedowns from the clinch. He doesn’t move around as much as Khabilov. Without a doubt, our previous training and strategy will help in this fight.”

On his goals: “I’m looking for the same goal, like any fighter: get into the top five and fight the best guys. I’m on the right track. The fight won’t go three rounds. It’s a good fight for me – just watch. Once they give me another shot at a top-10 opponent, I’ll take that chance and give everything I have.”