Estevan Martinez-Garcia was born on March 28, 1993, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico — the city where his competitive identity first took shape. At 14, he joined his high school wrestling team and competed for four years, building the grappling instincts and physical toughness that would later translate directly onto the BJJ mats. He graduated in 2011 with a solid wrestling foundation and, shortly after, accepted an invitation from a wrestling teammate to visit a local jiu-jitsu club.

What began as a casual outing quickly became a lasting commitment. It was BJJ's structured and frequent tournament scene that captured Martinez-Garcia's attention most — a competitive rhythm that suited the instincts of a former wrestler. His background gave him a natural entry point into the grappling-heavy discipline, and he wasted little time making jiu-jitsu the center of his athletic life.

Martinez-Garcia began his formal BJJ training in Albuquerque under coaches Kalo Lopez and Kale Lopez, establishing a presence on the local and regional circuit as he worked through the colored belt ranks. The Lopez Brothers provided the foundational instruction that shaped his technical development, and under their guidance he made a genuine mark in competition. At brown belt, he earned 3rd place at the IBJJF Pan Championship in 2016, then followed with a 2nd place finish at the AJP Grand Slam in Los Angeles in 2017 — results that reflected a competitor steadily closing the gap on the elite level.

Despite that progress, breaking through internationally remained elusive. The cost and logistics of repeated trips to California for major events, combined with the inherent limitations of a smaller academy environment, created a ceiling Martinez-Garcia recognized he needed to address. Rather than accept those constraints, he began searching for a larger training environment capable of matching his ambitions.

The opportunity came in 2017 through a friend, Mike Medina, who offered Martinez-Garcia the chance to relocate to California and join ZR Team. He accepted, and the move proved to be a pivotal turning point. Training under head coach Lucas Rocha, he entered a larger, more competitive environment that challenged his development in ways his previous setting had not.

The investment paid off decisively. At the 2019 IBJJF World Championships, Martinez-Garcia earned a bronze medal as a brown belt — a result strong enough to warrant his black belt promotion. Lucas Rocha awarded him the rank on June 1, 2019, formally closing one chapter of his career and opening another. The years spent grinding the regional circuit in Albuquerque, absorbing the cost of travel, and uprooting his life for a bigger team had all converged on this moment.

Martinez-Garcia announced himself as a serious black belt competitor almost immediately. In his debut year at the rank, he captured both the Gi and No-Gi titles at the IBJJF American Nationals in 2020 — a rare double that signaled his readiness to compete at the highest level. Competing in the Peso Galo division (127 lbs / 57.5 kg), one of the lightest and most technically demanding weight classes in elite BJJ, he demonstrated a consistency across formats that few competitors achieve so quickly after promotion.

2021 became the defining year of his competitive career. He claimed No-Gi gold at the IBJJF Pan American Championship — one of the most coveted titles on the IBJJF calendar — and later secured the No-Gi World Championship title, cementing his standing as one of the premier Galo division competitors in the world. He carried that momentum into 2022, adding a 3rd place finish at the IBJJF Pan Championship in the Gi, demonstrating that his black belt run represented a sustained peak rather than a short-lived surge.

For a competitor who fights at one of the lightest weight classes in professional grappling, Martinez-Garcia has shown a consistent willingness to step outside those boundaries and test himself against significantly larger opponents. That willingness earned him the nickname "Giant Slayer" — a moniker that crystallized around a standout appearance at Third Coast Grappling 8, where he faced a 6'3" opponent in a match that drew considerable attention from the grappling community. The performance distilled the competitive courage that has become central to his identity as an athlete.

He has extended that same mindset into the ADCC Open circuit, competing and winning full divisions at events such as the 2024 ADCC Orlando Open. These appearances reflect both his individual competitive drive and his broader role as a public-facing figure in the sport — the "Giant Slayer" persona functioning not merely as a nickname, but as a statement about how he approaches every match, regardless of size differential.

In early 2024, Martinez-Garcia announced the opening of Bully Me Now Ormond Beach, a new academy in Florida where he serves as co-owner and head coach. The move marked his departure from ZR Team in California, ending his tenure as a student-competitor under Lucas Rocha and signaling a new chapter focused on team building and athlete development on the East Coast.

As head coach, he has actively prepared his students for competition, entering them in events including ADCC Open tournaments. The academy reflects a meaningful shift in his primary role within the sport — from an individual competitor defined by personal titles to a coach and leader responsible for cultivating the next generation of grapplers. His competitive career has not paused alongside this transition; he continues to accept open-weight challenges and pursue results on the mats while shouldering the responsibilities of running his own gym.

As of September 2026, Martinez-Garcia became the subject of a criminal investigation conducted by the Port Orange Police Department (POPD) in Florida. According to a September 11, 2026 report by BJJ Doc, POPD investigators alleged that Martinez-Garcia developed an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student at a mixed martial arts gym in Port Orange over approximately one year, beginning in spring 2025 and continuing into spring 2026. As described by police, the alleged conduct included grooming behavior, inappropriate physical contact, and the sending of inappropriate images to the teenager.

POPD's Criminal Investigations Division reportedly became aware of the alleged relationship in July 2026. By that point, Martinez-Garcia had left Florida and returned to New Mexico. Working in coordination with the Albuquerque Police Department, POPD detectives identified his location and took him into custody in Albuquerque on approximately September 10, 2026. As of the date of that reporting, he remained in custody and the investigation was described as active. These are allegations as reported by the source; no adjudication has been reported.