Martin made his professional mixed martial arts debut on January 7, 2012, when he faced Bruce Johnson at Cage Fighting Xtreme 30. He won the fight via first round rear-naked choke. Following the quick win, he compiled a record of 8–0, including a notable win over UFC veteran
Phillipe Nover at Dakota FC 14, before being signed by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship in late 2013.
Ultimate Fighting Championship In his official UFC debut, Martin faced fellow newcomer
Rashid Magomedov at
UFC 169 on February 1, 2014. Though he had Magomedov in trouble early with a deep armbar, Magomedov rallied back and Martin lost the fight via unanimous decision. Martin then faced
Beneil Dariush at
UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos on August 23, 2014. Martin lost the fight via rear-naked choke in the second round. For his third fight with the promotion, he faced
Fabrício Camões in a catchweight bout (both fighters missed weight) at
UFC 179 on October 25, 2014. He won the fight via first round kimura lock, getting his first UFC win in the process. Martin next faced
Leonardo Santos on March 21, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 62, as a replacement for an injured
Matt Wiman. He lost the fight via submission in the second round. Martin faced promotional newcomer Felipe Olivieri on January 30, 2016, at
UFC on Fox 18. Martin earned a come from behind victory as he submitted Oilveiri in the third round. Martin was expected to face
Michel Prazeres on July 23, 2016, at
UFC on Fox 20. However, Martin pulled out of the fight in early July citing a neck injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer J.C. Cottrell. Martin was expected to face
Erik Koch on January 15, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 103. However, Koch pulled out of the fight on December 12 citing an injury and was replaced by
Alex White. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Martin faced
Johnny Case on June 25, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 112. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Martin faced
Olivier Aubin-Mercier on September 16, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 116. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Martin faced
Keita Nakamura in a welterweight bout on April 21, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 128. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Martin faced
Ryan LaFlare on October 6, 2018, at
UFC 229. He won the fight via knockout in the third round after dropping LaFlare with a head kick and following up with punches. This victory marked Martin's first professional victory by way of knockout. He won the fight via an anaconda choke in round three. Martin faced
Sérgio Moraes on March 9, 2019, at
UFC Fight Night 146. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Martin faced
Demian Maia on June 29, 2019, at
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos. He lost the fight via majority decision. Martin faced
Ramazan Emeev on November 9, 2019, at
UFC on ESPN+ 21. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Martin was scheduled to face
David Zawada on
April 25, 2020. However, on April 9 the promotion indicated that the pairing had been scrapped as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Martin faced
Neil Magny on June 6, 2020, at
UFC 250. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Martin and the UFC parted ways after the completion of his most recent contract allowing him to negotiate with other promotions.
CES Martin made his first appearance since leaving the UFC headlining against Tim Bazer at CES 68 on May 6, 2022. He won the bout via brabo choke in the second round. == Legal incidents==