ESPN profile leads to Bellator signing Rad Martinez
Rad Martinez, a heretofore anonymous 24-year-old mixed martial artist hailing from West Jordan, Utah, has signed a multiyear, multifight agreement…
Rad Martinez, a heretofore anonymous 24-year-old mixed martial artist hailing from West Jordan, Utah, has signed a multiyear, multifight agreement with Bellator Fighting Championships.
News of the deal comes days after Martinez, an all-American wrestler and teammate of UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at Clarion University, was the subject of an ESPN Outside the Lines profile focusing on his status as the primary caregiver to his brain-damaged father, Richard, who’s lived in a near vegetative state since an automobile accident in 1991.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said the organization had been in talks with Levi Martinez, Rad’s brother and manager, during the last year. After learning of Martinez’s story via the OTL piece on Sunday, Rebney instructed his matchmaker, Sam Caplan, to sign the 9-2 fighter, whose last bout ended in a submission loss to Brian Cobb in May.
