Tony Martin returned to action at UFC 229, defeating Ryan LaFlare by third round TKO after landing a brutal head kick.
The welterweight prospect believes USADA helped clean up the UFC, as Martin believes at least thirty percent of the roster were using illegal substances before they came in.
“Honestly, before USADA came in, I thought it was 30 percent (of fighters using performance-enhancing drugs),” Martin said after the event. “And USADA came in, and these idiots are still popping hot. It’s not coincidence anymore when one guy is saying, ‘Oh, it’s a contaminated supplement.’ When it’s 30 people saying the same damn thing every time. I don’t even check my results any more. I already know the results. I don’t take anything. I don’t do any supplements for the specific reason I don’t need it. And you can see all these guys’ performance dropping off dramatically when USADA is coming in. They’re jumping weight classes crazily, just trying to find wins. Georges St-Pierre said it changes your thought process, as well, because your confidence is lower, you’re not training as hard. Really, in this sport, if you’re not 110 percent confident you’re going to win the fight, you shouldn’t be getting in there.”
Martin has been competing in the UFC for almost five years now and has yet to fail a USADA issued drug test.
Fans can also expect Martin to show more of his personality from here on out, with that personality being a trash talker.
“When I first came to the UFC, I had to be humble, and I am a humble person,” Martin said. “But I’m also very confident. All I do all day is talk (expletive). Me and my girlfriend, Kayla (Harrison), all we do is talk (expletive). I go to my training sessions, and all my teammates are talking (expletive), and I’m talking (expletive). It’s honestly what I am. It’s what I’ve always done. I just wasn’t confident enough when I first came in. I was this really quiet guy. Now people are like, you’re trying to be Colby or Conor (McGregor). I’m just going to try to be more who I am.”
There is no word on when Martin will fight again, but he has called out Donald Cerrone and Mike Perry as a future opponent.
