Martin Day (fighter)
Martin Day (born November 10, 1988) is an Japanese-born American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
| Martin Day | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 10, 1988 Nagoya, Japan |
| Other names | The Spartan |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb) |
| Division | Bantamweight |
| Reach | 73.0 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii |
| Team | Hawaii Elite MMA |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 14 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Background
The son of missionaries, Martin was born in Nagoya, Japan while his parents were stationed there and his family moved to Hawaii when he was 9 months old. He has eight other siblings. [2] He started training in Taekwondo when he was 13 and started competing around the same time. After starting boxing around the age of 15 and accumulated quite a bit of amateur kickboxing fights, he decided to try MMA. Currently, Day is a 4th degree Dan Black Belt in ITF Taekwondo.[3]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Starting his career in 2015, Day earned an impressive record of 6-1, before he was invited on Dana White's Contender Series. Day’s lone loss in the road prior to DWTNCS came in March 2017 when he suffered defeat to Bellator MMA and LFA veteran Nohelin Hernandez.
Day’s first shot under the ZUFFA lights came against Jaime Alvarez on DWTNCS in August 2017. Day came out early with very solid leg kicks but was unable to get the judges’ decision at the end of the bout.
After the defeat, Day continued to win on the Hawaiian and California regional scenes. Day won all three of his following bouts, two of them by finishes. The final of the three was against the undefeated Brady Huang. Huang was 8-0 going into the matchup with all eight bouts ending by finish and seven of those eight ending in the first round. The two battled URCC 34: Destiny in August of 2018 as the co-main event to former UFC veteran Tyson Griffin. Day made quick work of the undefeated star, knocking out Huang in the second round.[4]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Day made his UFC debut on November 24, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 against Martin Day.[5] He lost the fight via split decision.[6]
Martin Day faced Davey Grant on July 11, 2020 at UFC 251.[7] He lost the fight via knockout in the third round.[8]
Day fought Anderson dos Santos on November 28, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark. [9] He lost the fight via first round guillotine choke. [10]
Day faced Timur Valiev on February 6, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov.[11] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[12]
Championships and accomplishments
- Universal Reality Combat Championship
- URCC Bantamweight Championship (One time)[13]
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 14 matches | 8 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 2 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 3 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 8–6 | Timur Valiev | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov | February 6, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Featherweight debut. |
| Loss | 8–5 | Anderson dos Santos | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark | November 28, 2020 | 1 | 4:35 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 8–4 | Davey Grant | KO (punch) | UFC 251 | July 12, 2020 | 3 | 2:38 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Loss | 8–3 | Pingyuan Liu | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 | November 24, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Beijing, China | |
| Win | 8–2 | Brady Huang | TKO | URCC 34 | August 4, 2018 | 2 | 1:10 | Richmond, California, United States | Return to Bantamweight. Won the vacant URCC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–2 | Shojin Miki | Decision (unanimous) | Destiny MMA: Fight Night 5 | June 23, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Richard Barnard | Submission (guillotine choke) | Destiny MMA: Fight Night 4 | February 17, 2018 | 1 | 0:55 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 5–2 | Jaime Alvarez | Decision (split) | Dana White's Contender Series 6 | August 15, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Shojin Miki | KO (punches) | Mid-Pacific Championships 3 | June 9, 2017 | 1 | 4:31 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | Flyweight debut. |
| Loss | 4–1 | Nohelin Hernandez | TKO (punches) | Global Knockout 9 | March 18, 2017 | 2 | N/A | Jackson, California, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Richard Parra III | Decision (split) | Tachi Palace Fights 28 | August 4, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Anthony Torres | TKO (punches) | WFC 17 | May 7, 2016 | 1 | 1:55 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jeffery Oher | TKO (punches) | Destiny MMA: Trinity Sport Combat | October 30, 2015 | 2 | 2:50 | Kapolei, Hawaii, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 1–0 | Dylan Morgan | Decision (split) | Destiny MMA: Na Koa 8 | January 17, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | Catchweight (140 lb) bout. |
References
- "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- "MARTIN DAY'S LOVE FOR THE GAME". UFC. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- "Martin Day: Continuing the Hawaiian UFC Presence". mmasucka. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- "Martin Day: Continuing the Hawaiian UFC Presence". mmasucka. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- "Report: Pingyuan Liu Faces Martin Day At UFC Fight Night Beijing | Fightful MMA". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
- "Liu Pingyuan def. Martin Day at UFC Fight Night 141: Best photos". MMA Junkie. 2018-11-24. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
- Mike Heck (2020-06-18). "UFC announces full lineups for July events on 'Fight Island,' including four title fights". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- Burke, Tim (2020-07-11). "UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal prelims live results, discussion, play by play". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- Raphael Marinho (2020-09-08). "In search of their first UFC win, Anderson Berinja and Martin Day fight in November". sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-09-08.(in Portuguese)
- McClory, Mike (2020-11-28). "UFC Vegas 15 Results: Anderson dos Santos Forces Martin Day to Respect His Jiu-Jitsu". cagesidepress. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
- Christian Shimabuku (2021-01-29). "Kailua's Martin Day to take UFC Fight Night 184 bout on short notice". khon2.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- Anderson, Jay (2021-02-06). "UFC Vegas 18 Results: Timur Valiev Earns Pair of 30-25 Scores Against Martin Day". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- "Martin Day: Continuing the Hawaiian UFC Presence". mmasucka. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
- Sherdog.com. "Martin Day". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-08-07.