Brett Martin Looks to Make Another Statement When He Defends His Heavyweight Title at Lights Out Championship 3
At Lights Out Championship 2, Brett “Big Dog” Martin stepped into the cage to face his toughest challenge yet in Josh Parisian. The fight was not only for the inaugural Lights Out Championship heavyweight title, but also to determine who the best heavyweight in Michigan is. Prior to that fight, Martin bounced back from his first career loss to Leroy Johnson by defeating Ryan Pokryfky to win the Total Warrior Combat heavyweight title and Parisian was making his first appearance back on the regional scene after appearing on Dan White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter.
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The fight was expected to be a battle, but it only took Martin a minute and eight seconds to lay claim to his second professional title, defeating Parisian by kimura. Martin stuck to his game plan, immediately shooting in on Parisian and was able to take the veteran heavyweight down. Parisian went for an armbar and after fighting it off, Martin was able to go for his own submission that one him the fight.
That armbar Parisian had on him was quite tight according to Martin.
“The armbar was good, my elbow popped a couple of times. I mean it wasn’t nothing to where I had to stop or anything, but it was definitely a deep armbar. It was more of a leverage armbar than a technically sound (one). My elbow was still pretty high and once I stood up, I slid up pretty far. It was more of a crank on the elbow more than it was the armbar.”
Getting out of the armbar and taking control of the fight has only enhanced Martin’s confidence and is another stepping stone in becoming an elite fighter.
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“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in my ground game and fight game in general. But it is nice to know that we’re getting better and we’re growing. We’re not just a boring wrestler, I can finish the fight from anywhere, I can finish it on the ground or from the feet, on one knee, on one foot, pretty much anywhere we’re at. I know I can finish the fight whether it’s with my hands or my submissions. We’re just trying to get better at being an all-around good grappler, good fighter and good stand up fighter so that we can fight with the best in the world and just consider ourselves one of the elite.”
Martin has used his notoriety from winning the belts to speak to kids in his area and make a difference in his community. He referees little league football and other sports to help teach kids that their dreams are possible to achieve.
“It shows no matter how old we get, if we have dreams, even as adults we can still chase after those dreams.”
The “Big Dog” will continue to chase after his dream on April 27 when he defends his Lights Out Championship title against Jesse Hernandez. This is only a two-month turnaround for Martin, but as he says, there’s not time like the present to get things done.
“I figure I’m only 24 which is young but at the same time, I’m not getting any younger. I’ll keep taking fights as long as my body allows me. Everybody knows I’m not gonna shy away from a fight.”
Martin is also a contender for Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series this summer but he isn’t worried about risking a shot at a spot on one of the cards. Instead, he views this as a way to ensure he is ready when they come calling.
“None at all, obviously the UFC is the goal cause Bellator is obviously known as the smaller promotion and not the top. The elite, obviously the best in the world are in the UFC so that’s the ultimate goal but we’re not shying away from any fights to get there because I don’t want to get in there and find holes in my game, I rather fight the best now and find those holes. That way when I get to that world level, I’m prepared for anything.”
His upcoming fight will do just that. Hernandez is 7-2 but is coming off of almost a three-year layoff. The fight came to be, because Hernandez is friendly with an opponent who wanted to face Martin but wasn’t able to, so Hernandez jumped at the opportunity according to Martin.
“From what I’ve heard he trains with that Justin Frazier who is buddies with Josh Parisian from The Ultimate Fighter house. We were all in the Ultimate Fighter tryouts together and what not. These are all guys who are trying to breakthrough and get to the UFC or already fought for the Ultimate Fighter, so if these guys are mad at me or want to fight me, they are more than welcome to.”
Martin believes Frazier had reached out to Lights Out Promoter Matt Frendo and he also posted on social media to get the fight. (Frendo confirmed that Frazier was offered to fight Martin but received an offer from an international promotion so he referred Hernandez for the fight) Martin also said he saw people post on Parisian’s Instagram account that his followers were posting about his looks. Martin recognizes that he doesn’t have the terrorizing looks of a heavyweight like Alistair Overeem, but he wants to prove that it’s not how you look that matters in the fight.
“A lot of these guys see me, even people on Josh’s Instagram, People talk a big game and they look at me and think I’m soft. A lot of them say a lot of dumb shit and they don’t understand once that door closes, it doesn’t matter what I look like, if my skills are up to par and yours aren’t, I’m gonna make you look pretty bad.”
He also hopes to turn this into a lesson for the younger kids who look like him and need someone to look up to.
“I’m just like everybody else, I’m just trying to build a career. So maybe I can teach some of those kids that look like me, don’t let what people say affect them. Maybe I can change their life, that’s what it’s all about. People have been talking about me my since I was a little boy, it didn’t affect me then, it definitely doesn’t affect me now, I’m pretty old now. The people who need to care about me care about me and the other people I can care less.”
“I want to show people that no matter how you look or how you act or how you are, if you’re a good person and you work really hard, the sky’s the limit.”
For this fight, Martin believes he will be at his best as he will be able to have a more productive camp. His full-time job is for the department of public works for the city of Coopersville doing anything from roadwork to driving trucks in the winter. For this camp, he will have a 7-3 work schedule and able to get more cardio in. And Martin says, he is glad to have someone to help him put on a show for the fans.
“I’m just happy somebody took it (the fight) and is willing to come up and put on the show for Grand Rapids.”
