UFC veteran Lucas Martins signed with Global Fight League ahead of the promotion’s inaugural season in 2025, but admits that the pressure of leading the new generation of the sport at Team Lucas Mineiro is heavier than entering the cage to trade punches and kicks.
“Mineiro” went 4-3 under the UFC banner between 2013 and 2016, including a rare stretch of three stoppage victories in a row in three different weight classes with two bonuses won. Since leaving the UFC, he 36-year-old captured the Brave CF belt and has won seven of 11 MMA bouts.
While he waits for GFL to reveal the date and opponent for his promotional debut, he enters the UFC APEX this Saturday as a head coach for Andre Lima and Kevin Vallejos, who battle Daniel Barez and Seung Woo Choi at UFC Vegas 104, respectively.
“I have a big responsibility over my shoulders when I’m fighting, but it’s way bigger when I’m there as a coach,” Martins told MMA Fighting. “Andre has more than 150 kickboxing and boxing matches in the Brazilian circuit, so he has a ton of experience going into the UFC. And he’s a jiu-jitsu black belt. We’re going for our fourth win in the UFC, and I hope it takes him to another level in the UFC, maybe in the top 15 already.”
“Kevin is very talented, his hands are heavy, and he’s very smart,” he added. “He came here to evolve as an athlete and I’m confident he’ll get a great victory this weekend.”
The latest member of his team to join the promotion was Tallison Teixeira, who made noise in his debut with a devastating 35-second beatdown of Justin Tafa at UFC 312 in February. “Xicao” is 8-0 with eight first-round stoppages in the sport. Martins believes he’s championship material, but won’t rush him to the top.
“He’s very talented, a jiu-jitsu back belt with phenomenal boxing,” Martins said. “He left the Contender Series and went straight to the UFC against a guy who had more than 10 fights in the UFC with several knockouts. It was a huge pressure, but he was focused. He’s young and has everything to be at the top, but we’re in no hurry. He’s only 26, we have plenty of time, but we’ll have great performances like that every time he steps into the octagon.”
Martins expects his strawweight protégé Lany Silva to join them in the UFC after a viral head-kick KO earlier this year in which she knocked Rose Conceicao out cold to claim the LFA championship. The 7-1 talent is hoping to be part of Dana White’s Contender Series this season to earn a deal with the company.
“That was one of the most brutal knockouts all time in women’s MMA,” Martins said. “She’ll continue to work hard and hopefully we’ll get a chance on the Contender Series—or maybe go straight to the UFC.”
