Lorain’s Jose Martinez loses bout on ‘The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated’

Jose Martinez was bloody and fought to the end, but that resolve couldn’t deliver a win May 2.

The Lorain resident lost his lightweight bout to Luis Pena on “The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated” by unanimous decision. The two-round fight was scored 10-8 and 10-8, with each round in favor of Pena.

“Every step back is a major comeback,” said Martinez on the Fox Sports 1 show. “My fight didn’t go as expected, and now I’ve got to get right back at it and get back to work.”

It was an entertaining bout from the start, as the 6-foot-3 Pena used his long reach to keep the 5-10 Martinez at bay. Martinez was aggressive from the start, and connected with some early rights. Pena then started to take control with front kicks and counter punches. Martinez ended the first round with more rights, and a solid leg kick as the bell sounded.

By Round 2, Pena continued to used his reach to his advantage and connected with rights. Those, along with a few leg kicks to the face, caused cuts to Martinez’s face and blood began to show.

Martinez tried to rally late, but could not do enough damage to sway the judge’s scorecards.

“The fight went exactly how I thought it would go but he didn’t drop,” said Pena on FS1’s “Tuf Talk” after the May 2 episode.

Both fighters entered the bout with 4-0 records. The loss by Martinez technically won’t affect his perfect mark as a professional. The fights on the show are deemed exhibitions.

Martinez was a member of Coach Stipe Miocic’s team, which is now 0-3 after three episodes. The other side is coached by UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

Cormier and Miocic will fight July 7 in Las Vegas at UFC 226 for Miocic’s UFC heavyweight championship belt.

Despite the victory, Pena’s availability the rest of the show’s season might be in jeopardy. A teaser for the May 9 episode shows Pena dealing with a left foot injury. How that might impact Martinez’s future on the show is unclear.

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