Martins started his MMA career in 2011; before that he competed in muay thai, achieving a 34–2 record. He fought only for Brazilian-based promotions such as Jungle Fight and MMA Rocks. With a record of twelve wins and no losses, Martins signed with the UFC.
Lucas Martins is managed by Wade Hampel of Big Fight Management.[4]
Martins faced Jeremy Larsen, a contestant of The Ultimate Fighter: Live, on 18 May 2013, at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold. Despite taking a significant amount of damage in the first two rounds, Martins knocked Larsen out early in the third round.[7] The performance earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.[8]
Martins was expected to face Johnny Eduardo on 9 November 2013, at UFC Fight Night 32. However, both fighters were removed from the card due to injury.[10]
Martins was expected to face Bryan Caraway on 22 February 2014, at UFC 170.[11] However, Caraway pulled out of the bout citing and injury and was replaced by UFC newcomer Aljamain Sterling.[12]
Martins was expected to face Jim Alers in a featherweight bout on 16 July 2014, at UFC Fight Night 45.[13] However, Alers pulled out of the bout citing injury and was replaced by Alex White.[14] Martins won the back and forth fight via knockout in the third round.[15] The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[16]
Martins faced Robert Whiteford on 10 April 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86.[21] Martins won the fight via split decision.[22] Subsequently, the UFC elected not to renew Martin's contract – allowing him to sign elsewhere.[23]
Brave CF
After racking a couple of wins in Brazil's regional circuit, Martins signed with Brave Combat Federation. In the promotional debut Martins faced Fabian Galvan at Brave CF 3 and won the bout via Brabo choke in the second round.
On 13 April 2018, Martins faced Luan Santiago Carvalho for the interim lightweight championship. Martins was behind in the scorecards coming into the fifth and final round. In the final seconds of the round, Santiago dislocated his elbow when he was taken down by Martins and couldn't continue.[24] Martins became a free agent after fighting out his two-fight contract with Brave, but elected to rapidly sign a new, five-fight contract with the organization.[25]
Martins faced Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady for the undisputed lightweight championship at Brave CF 18 on 16 November 2018.[26] Martins injured his left leg when he was taken down by Al-Selwady in the first round and referee stopped the fight.[27]
On 25 July 2019, Martins was defeated by Bubba Jenkins at Brave 24 by TKO at 2:48 of the first round by way of unanswered strikes. Jenkins retained the Brave CF Featherweight Championship.[28]
Martins was next scheduled to face Felipe Silva at Brave CF 35 on 28 March 2020, but Silva withdrew from the bout and was replaced with Abdul-Rakhman Makhaziev. However, the event has been postponed until a to-be-determined date due to the COVID-19 pandemic[29]
Martins was next expected to face Luan Santiago in a rematch at Brave CF 41 on 17 September 2020.[30] However, Martins was forced to withdraw due to an injury and the bout was scrapped.[31]
Martins was scheduled to face Marcel Grabinski on 4 June 2021 at Brave CF 51.[32] Hoewever, Grabinski has to pull out from the fight due to medical condition. The bout has been called off.[33]
Martins scheduled again to face Marcel Grabinski on 21 August 2021 at Brave CF 53. According to BRAVE CF officials, Grabinski was forced to withdraw from the rescheduled bout a little bit less than week prior to the event due to Covid-19 protocols. Marcel hadn’t traveled to Kazakhstan and was replaced by local standout Olzhas Eskaraev.[34] In an upset, Martins lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round.[35]
Martins would then go on to face Henrique Marques on July 30, 2022 at Brave CF 60, winning via TKO stoppage a minute into the bout.[36]
Martins faced Ylies Djiroun on September 7, 2023 at Brave CF 74, knocking out his opponent in the first round.[37]
