Fighting in the UFC is a big deal and you have to prove yourself not only to get into the largest MMA promotion in the world but also prove yourself once you are in.

Lucas Martins is a testament to that after the UFC did not offer a new contract to him, despite his last fight at UFC Fight Night 86 being a win. Martins took a split-decision win over Robert Whiteford but had lost his two fights prior to that.

“My manager (Diego) Lima was talking to the UFC, and said that the division is full,” Martins told MMA Fighting. “Even though I was coming off a win, my contract is over and they told me to get a couple more wins outside the UFC, two nice knockouts, and they would definitely sign me again. I wasn’t expecting that because I was coming off a win, but it’s fine.”

With a 4-3 record in the UFC with three of the four wins being finishes, Martins is surprised with the UFC’s decision.

“I’ve done a lot of things in there,” he said. “There are athletes in the UFC that haven’t done half of what I did, and this is happening to me. I’ll keep my head up and continue doing my job. I’m looking at other fights now and go back to the UFC because they pay us better. I don’t fight for status, I fight for money to help my family.”

“We got an offer from Bellator and it’s great financially,” said “Mineiro”, who has an extremely high finish rate in his MMA career with 14 of his 16 professional wins coming by submission or KO/TKO. “I would be able to have my sponsors in the cage as well since there’s no Reebok there, but I’m going to think about it.”

Video | Fabricio Werdum
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