Poppies_Martinez

Poppies Martinez

Poppies Martinez

American mixed martial arts fighter

Poppies Martinez (born August 19, 1983) is a Native American professional mixed martial artist of the Tachi Yokuts tribe currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also formerly competed for the California-based promotions, the WEC, Palace Fighting Championship, and Tachi Palace Fights.

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

Background

Born and raised in Lemoore, California, Martinez competed in wrestling at Lemoore High School.[4] Martinez has also trained in Kenpo Karate and holds a black belt.[3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career: World Extreme Cagefighting

Martinez began training in mixed martial arts at the age of 19 and made his professional debut in 2003 for the WEC. Martinez fought exclusively for the promotion until 2006.

Palace Fighting Championship and Tachi Palace Fights

From 2007 to 2014, Martinez fought mainly for Palace Fighting Championship, and after the organization's end, Tachi Palace Fights. Both organizations held most of their events in Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino at Martinez's hometown in Lemoore, California.[5]

Martinez fought for the PFC Lightweight Championship on March 22, 2007, at PFC 2 against Shad Smith. He lost via submission due to a guillotine choke in the third round.

Martinez was scheduled to rematch Shad Smith on October 18, 2007, at PFC 4 for the PFC Lightweight Championship. However, Smith was forced to pull out of the bout after being medically suspended by CSAC. Martinez was rescheduled to face Brandon Jinnies at the same event for the PFC Interim Lightweight Championship.[6] He won via TKO early in the first round and became the PFC interim lightweight title holder.

Once again, Martinez fought for the PFC Lightweight Championship on January 17, 2008, at PFC 6 against Diego Saraiva and was defeated via submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round.[7]

Martinez faced David Mitchell on July 9, 2010, at TPF 5: Stars and Strikes for the welterweight title. He lost via technical submission due to a triangle choke early in the first round.[8]

Martinez faced Christos Giagos on August 22, 2013, at TPF 16: The Return for the vacant TPF Lightweight Championship. Martinez defeated Giagos via submission due to a guillotine choke in the first round and became the new Lightweight Champion.[9]

Martinez also faced Chris Culley on February 6, 2014, at TPF 18: Martinez vs. Culley for the vacant TPF Featherweight Championship. He won via submission due to an anaconda choke in the first round and became the only fighter to hold two TPF belts simultaneously.[10]

Bellator MMA

Martinez made his promotional debut on October 4, 2013, at Bellator 102 against Brandon Girtz. He lost via submission due to an armbar early in the first round.[11]

Martinez next faced Josh Smith on April 11, 2014, at Bellator 116. He won via submission due to a guillotine choke at 3:50 of round one.[12]

In his third fight within the promotion, Martinez faced Bubba Jenkins at Bellator 122 on July 25, 2014.[13] He lost the fight via first-round TKO.

Martinez faced Julio Cesar Neves on September 19, 2014, at Bellator 125.[14] He lost via TKO in the first round.

Personal life

Martinez, who is married, has eight children and his brother, Andrew "Mickey" Martinez, is also a professional mixed martial artist who has competed for Tachi Palace Fights. Mickey competes in the Heavyweight division.[15][4]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
41 matches 29 wins 11 losses
By knockout 8 4
By submission 18 7
By decision 3 0
No contests 1
More information Res., Record ...

Professional boxing record

3 Wins (1 knockout, 2 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Win 3–0United States Jovanni Rubio UD 4 2009-03-21 United States Playboy Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Win 2–0United States Yonas Gebreegziabher MD 4 2009-02-06 United States Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, United States
Win 1–0United States Ben Witthar TKO 1 (4), 1:32 2008-10-23 United States Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, United States

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Poppies Martinez's profile". Bellator.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  2. [2]
    "Poppies Martinez's profile". Tapology.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  3. [3]
    "Poppies Martinez | 51 Fifty Energy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  4. [4]
    "The journey continues for Lemoore's Martinez".
  5. [5]
    Mike Whitman (March 29, 2013). "Update: tribal council reverses decision, Tachi Palace Fights to return in August". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  6. [6]
    John Chandler (October 16, 2007). "Jinnies to replace Smith at PFC 4". MMAontap.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  7. [7]
    Keith Mills (January 20, 2008). "Palace Fighting Championships 6 results". Adcombat.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  8. [8]
    Joseph Zigler and Jeff Sherwood (July 10, 2010). "McCullough stops de Jesus, Alessio chokes out War Machine at TPF". Sherdog.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  9. [9]
    Joseph Zigler (August 23, 2013). "Poppies Martinez, Art Arciniega capture titles at Tachi Palace Fights 16". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  10. [10]
    Mike Whitman (February 6, 2014). "Poppies Martinez, Joe Soto strike Tachi Palace Fights gold at TPF 18". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  11. [11]
    Staff (October 5, 2013). "Bellator 102 results: Kongo flattens Godbeer, Queiroz whacks Johnson". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  12. [12]
    Brian Knapp (April 11, 2014). "Blagoi Ivanov submits Lavar Johnson in Bellator 116 heavyweight tournament semifinal". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  13. [13]
    Jason Floyd (June 10, 2014). "Bubba Jenkins drops to featherweight, meets Poppies Martinez at Bellator 122". themmareport.com. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  14. [14]
    "James Irvin Injured, Replacement Bout Announced For Bellator 125". mmanews.com. August 29, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  15. [15]
    "Srmma.com: Source Says Poor Finanicial [sic] Reporting Was The Reason Tachi Palace Closed". www.srmma.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
  16. [16]
    Press release (November 7, 2007). "PFC heads to North Dakota for "beatdown at 4 bears"". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  17. [17]
    Press release (November 12, 2007). "Imes highlights – PFC 5". Sherdog.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  18. [18]
    Loretta Hunt (October 14, 2005). "WEC 17: Halloween Fury 4 all treat, few tricks". FCFighter.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
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