Richie Martinez - Accomplished Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu

Richie Martinez is a highly accomplished black belt in jiu-jitsu. Born in California, Richie Martinez is also a representative of the 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Academy. He is commonly named “Boogeyman” and holds the title of multiple-time EBI finalist. Richie Martinez belongs to the “Freak Brothers'' group, being the brother of another successful and skilled BJJ fighter, Geo Martinez.

Richie Martinez and his brother were raised by a single mother who was  Miss Los Angeles and a Mexican Actress. Both Richie and Geo Martinez started their careers as breakdancers. They gained fame by participating in various b-boying breakdancing tournaments in different regions of California. Then in 2011, grappling grabbed Richie’s attention when he noticed his brother's victory at the Gracie Nationals Championship.

His brother so inspired Richie that he immediately decided to join the 10th Planet Vista Academy. Richie was trained there Under the supervision of Sean Bollinger, Richie underwent formal no-gi jiu-jitsu training.  once a week. In the remaining days, Richie focused on improving his grappling skills,  drilling challenging techniques at his home with his girlfriend. Once, Richie Martinez shared their career story in an interview. He said,

As Richie Martinez was a highly focused athlete and wanted to achieve more in jiu-jitsu, he decided to train at the 10th Planet headquarters, where Eddie Bravo was the main coach who taught advanced jiu-jitsu techniques to Richie. After gaining proficiency in BJJ, Richie made his first debut in 2013 in mixed martial arts and grappling. Richie competed in the Xplode Fight Series and got the victory in the first veto fights by applying the guillotine and rear naked choke techniques.

Richie Martinez competed in various top BJJ tournaments including Polaris, Metamoris, Quintet, and Submission Underground. Along with IBJJF tournaments, Richie showcased his incredible grappling skills in 5 professional fights in different promotions, such as Brave FC, Xplode FS Titan FC, etc.It is evident  through these achievements that Richie’s entire grappling record  is phenomenal. Richie used his favorite techniques, such as Omoplata and Japanese Necktie, to  defeat various top BJJ fighters.

Both Richie and Geo Martinez got supreme recognition in the grappling circuit. They opened their own 10th Planet Freaks gyms. Richie’s gym was located in San Diego, while Geo’s gym is in Oceanside, California. On  January 3, 2015, at the grand opening ceremony of San Diego Academy, Eddie Bravo promoted Richie Martinez to black belt.

The 2018 Quintet 2 was considered Richie’s top historic fight where he won against the famous fighter Kazushi Sakuraba. Richie attempted the Darce choke and submitted his opponent. Richie also defeated various top fighters in the NAGA World Championship using the signature Japanese Necktie.

Richie Martinez holds the professional record of 31 wins with 20 losses in BJJ. Half of his submission wins were achieved via rear naked choke. Richie’s MMA record is also incredible with 3 wins by submission in under 60 seconds and 2 losses.

In 2023 Quintet 4, an electrifying match occurred between Richie Martinez and Craig Jones. Both fighters performed in the battle spectacularly, but ultimately Craig Jones won the match via toe hold.

In the 2020 Submission Underground 11, Richie Martinez faced  Jake Shields. In an incredible battle between both top fighters, Richie won the match based on the EBI/OT.

In the 2021 Submission Underground  23, Richie Martinez faced Don Stoner. Richie applied a Japanese Necktie, his signature submission technique, and won the match against  Don Stoner.

Richie Martinez vs Jeff Roman

Richie Martinez vs Fred Bulletts

Boogeyman Richie Martinez vs Edward Darby XFS Fire March 22, 2014

AJ Agazaram vs Richie Martinez ADCC Florida

Photo Credit: @boogeyman_tfs