Tony Martin Was Hoping For the Finish in UFC Fight Night 128 Win

Tony Martin spoke with MMAjunkie following his unanimous decision win over Keita Nakamura at UFC Fight Night 128. Highlights are below:

On wanting to finish the fight: “I was definitely wanting to take him out – I wanted my first KO. I feel like I hurt him a few times, and I went to jump on him a little bit. The coaches were like, ‘Let’s just calm down here’ – it’s my first fight at 170, and they didn’t know how I’d fully react to having more weight and just the difference of everything. I think they wanted to see how it played out without rushing in for the kill. I was dominating.”

On his decision to move to welterweight: “Mike Brown was like, ‘Listen, you’re in here training with the best 170-pounders in the world. You’re not fighting at ’55 anymore.'”

On wanting a fresh start with his win: “I wish the UFC would act like I haven’t fought a UFC fight and just act like, ‘Listen, this is his first fight in the UFC.’ Obviously, that’s probably not going to happen. But I saw (matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) and I told him, ‘Listen, I want a killer. I want someone who’s going to try to take me out, and let’s see really where I’m at.’ I don’t want easy fights. That was my ninth UFC fight. I’m one of the quietest ones – it’s my ninth fight in the UFC, and I’m the first fight on the card.”

On his next fight: “Honestly, I just want big, tough guys. I don’t care who it is.”