Following latest submission win, Emily Martins wants another crack at CFFC title: 'I'm here to be a champion'
After devastating setback in failed title bid, Martins believes she's made the necessary adjustments to claim belt.
TAMPA, Florida – At just 21 years old, Emily Martins believes she's ready to be CFFC women's bantamweight champion.
She actually had a chance to claim the belt this past June, paired against the hard-hitting Auttumn Norton in a bid for a then-vacant title. However, the fight was over before it ever really began, with Norton delivering a crushing right hand just 10 seconds into the contest and taking home the title with a walk-off knockout.
It was a devastating result for Martins, and she took the following 10 months off to not only recover, but to also address the shortcomings that were exposed in the loss. This past Saturday, she returned to the cage at CFFC 141, which streamed live on UFC FIGHT PASS from the Florida State Fairgrounds, where she got back to her winning ways, submitting Poland's Nikola Kacperska in 91 seconds.
For Martins (3-1 MMA, 3-1 CFFC), a highly decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under longtime UFC flyweight contender Jussier Formiga, it was her third career pro win, all of them coming by rear-naked choke.
"Everything I do in my jiu-jitsu world, every time I just get the neck," Martins said. "I told everybody, I'm like, 'I wish I could get an amrbar so bad,' but they just give me the back every time, so I just have it there."
Despite the lengthy layoff between fights for Martins, she actually ended up back in the cage before Norton. The reigning CFFC women's bantamweight champion was targeted for a fall return to action before injury forced her back to the sidelines, and her first attempted title defense has yet to be confirmed.
After taking a step back and proving her worth again with her CFFC 141 performance, Martins says she would be happy to try and book a rematch.
"I knew my spot, and I knew I had to go back on the stairs to get my step up again, but I deserve the belt," Martins said. "I didn't fight last time. It was 10 seconds. My opponent had a really good shot, but I also had a technical issue, and I went back there, and I fixed it, and I'm ready for the belt because I'm here to be a champion."
Whether or not Norton and CFFC officials are of the same mindset remains to be determined, but Martins again appears to have a bright future ahead, and she'll continue to hone her craft at the legendary American Top Team headquarters as she awaits her next assignment. In the meantime, she'll also continue to use her growing platform to spread a message that guides her life.
"All glory and all honor to Jesus Christ," Martins said. "Everything I do, every step I make is because I have to talk of him to people. His words say that salvation is for everybody who obeys, so if you fall away from Jesus and you miss him, he is with his arms open to you. He wants to hug you back and give you salvation, so go back to him now."