'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#5 Adriano Martins
Of all the StrikeForce imports that came into the UFC in early 2013 and actually stuck around for a decent amount of time, Adriano Martins remains perhaps the most strangely forgotten. The Brazilian Lightweight made some impact during his time in the Octagon and even featured on a ‘big’ Fox main card, but few people likely realised he’d been released in November 2017.
Martins came into the UFC with a solid record of 24-6, and had beaten UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel in his previous outing. A big win over Daron Cruickshank via straight armbar marked his UFC debut, and he was then given a showcase fight with Donald Cerrone on the main card of UFC on Fox 10.
The Brazilian lost that fight via a vicious head kick knockout, but he quickly rebounded – winning 3 in a row including beating dangerous Russian fighters Rustam Khabilov and Islam Makhachev – the latter by violent knockout. At the end of 2015 it looked like Martins would be a man to watch.
It wasn’t to be, though – and probably explains why he’s become forgotten. His win over Makhachev was followed by a full year on the shelf, and after a disappointing loss to fellow Brazilian Leonardo Santos, he took another year off before being KO’d by Kajan Johnson to end his UFC career. Now in Fight Nights Global, Martins has vanished from the memories of UFC fans – probably due to his long layoffs.
