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Professional fighter and Dulac native Martin Verdin has loved fighting all his life. First he watched others throw down; later he was an active participant.
As a 12-year boxing veteran, the 32-year-old holds a record of 15-13-1. He stepped away from the squared circle of the boxing ring to compete in the caged hexagon of mixed martial arts fighting for the first time last Saturday night in Thibodaux.
He defeated fellow pro fighter Raymond Knight in the first round. The referee stopped the bout after Verdin got his opponent on the mat and continuously landed headshots uncontested.
SportsNet caught up with the divorced father of one son, Martin Jr., 9, after the fight and spoke about his cage fight debut.
SportsNet: You have been a boxer for many years. What made you decide to get into Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)?
Martin Verdin: Well, [cousin Justin Verdin, trainer Gabe Barahona and others] talked about it for a long time. A lot of people kept asking me to get in the cage because when I didn’t have a pro fight, I would be training with a bunch of guys who were fighting in the cage. All the time, I was learning; learning ground work. So a lot of people said I should try it out and I said, ‘I’m not ready yet.’ Then it got to the point where I didn’t have any pro fights lined up, no boxing match lined up, so I said, ‘Let’s give it a shot. Let’s see what we can do.’
SN: How long have you been training for MMA?
MV: I’ve been training for a while now.
SN: What was the strategy for tonight’s fight against Raymond Knight?
MV: I wanted to go out there and fight him standing up at first because he said he wanted to stand me up. But I didn’t want to submit him (making your opponent quit). So maybe the next guy, if he wants me to show him submission, I’ll show him submission.
SN: What fighting styles are needed for MMA?
MV: I’ve been working with Brazilian jiujitsu. I have a good trainer, Gabe Barahona. He’s a good instructor. Like you’ve seen tonight, I paced myself, I was relaxed. It was like another day at the gym. And I just love to fight. The good thing is, I don’t get to go to jail.
SN: What class were you in as a pro boxer?
MV: I was a light heavyweight (175 pounds). But the way I was training, I’m down to super middleweight (168 pounds). That training helped me out a lot. I lost a lot of weight. I haven’t seen this weight in a long time.
SN: Most fighters have intimidating nicknames. So why is yours “Smiling” Martin Verdin?
MV: I don’t know. I guess the muscles in my face just stuck like that. I’m just a happy-go-lucky guy. When I go out there in the ring or in the cage, to me, it’s just fun. I’ve been enjoying fighting since I was a little kid. I used to watch people fight and just said, ‘Man, why’d he do that?’ Then I started doing it. I love it, you know, making a guy miss. It’s just awesome, catching a guy off-guard. After the fight, it’s all cool. I’ll buy him a beer; I’ll buy a water; whatever he wants. To me, it’s not a grudge thing, you know. I go out there and he beats me or I beat him, it’s all good. But I’m always smiling. Plenty of times when I was younger, I got into street fights at school because I was watching two guys fight and I was smiling and one of the guys thought I was looking at him, you know. Cop pulls me over and I’m smiling. They think I did something wrong. It don’t pay to get mad, you know. I have no reason to get mad. When I box, I go out there, smile and have fun. Cage fight, same thing. Smile and have fun.
SN: You have another fight lined up?
MV: Yeah, I have a boxing match lined up. I’ll be fighting in Atlanta, Ga., against Brian Norman. I just found out tonight. It will be sometime toward the end of May.
