Adriano Soares Martins was born on June 12, 1982, in Brazil, and his path to becoming one of the country's most respected grapplers began not on the BJJ mats but through the discipline of Judo. Starting in 1994 at the age of twelve, Martins dedicated six years to Judo, developing the throwing mechanics, grip fighting, and ground control instincts that would form the backbone of his martial arts career. By 2000, he had earned the rank of brown belt — a testament to both his natural aptitude and his relentless commitment to the craft.

The transition to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu began in 1999, while Martins was still actively competing in Judo. Influenced by friends who had already taken up the sport, he began training BJJ and quickly found that its technical depth on the ground resonated with the grappling instincts he had spent years sharpening. He joined the academy where Cristiano Carioca taught — a decision that would define the next chapter of his martial arts life. The overlap between his final years of competitive Judo and his early BJJ development gave Martins a particularly well-rounded grappling foundation, one shaped by the explosive positional awareness of Judo and refined by the submission-focused intricacy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Training under Cristiano Carioca at Carioca Team/Top Life Academias, Adriano Martins developed into a formidable competitor with remarkable efficiency. His success at the lower belt levels came quickly: in 2003, he claimed the World Championship title at blue belt, and just one year later in 2004, he returned to capture the World Championship at purple belt in the Open Weight division — a result that demonstrated his willingness and ability to compete against larger, more experienced opponents.

Martins continued to perform at a high level through the brown belt division, earning a silver medal at the World Cup in 2005 in the lightweight absolute category. That same competitive drive carried into his black belt debut, where he secured a bronze medal at the World Championship in 2006 — the same year Cristiano Carioca formally awarded him the black belt, recognizing his technical mastery and years of dedicated training. Competing in the lightweight division at 76 kilograms (167 lbs), Martins built a competition résumé marked by consistent results across every belt level, laying a strong foundation for his ambitions in mixed martial arts.

Building a Reputation on the Brazilian Circuit

Adriano Martins launched his MMA career in 2004 when an unexpected opportunity presented itself, and he wasted little time proving that his grappling credentials translated powerfully into the cage. Working through Brazil's competitive regional scene, he built a reputation as a dangerous finisher, defeating respected fighters such as Ronys Torres and Luciano Azevedo and establishing himself among the country's top lightweight prospects.

The defining moment of his regional career came on April 21, 2011, when Martins captured the Jungle Fight interim lightweight title by stopping Ronildo Braga via TKO. The performance demonstrated his ability to combine his BJJ base with well-rounded striking and fight-finishing instincts — and it opened the door to the UFC, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization.

The UFC and the Makhachev Knockout

The pinnacle of Martins' MMA career arrived at UFC 192 on October 3, 2015, when he delivered one of the most stunning finishes of that year. Facing Islam Makhachev — a highly regarded prospect widely viewed as a future star — Martins produced a knockout that sent shockwaves through the MMA community. The finish earned him a Performance of the Night bonus and, more significantly, stands as the only professional loss on Makhachev's record. In a sport where legacies are built on a handful of defining moments, the Makhachev knockout cemented Adriano Martins' place among Brazilian MMA's most dangerous and unpredictable competitors — a fighter capable of producing career-defining results against elite opposition on the sport's biggest stage.