WEST JORDAN — On Nov. 12 Rad Martinez will face UFC fighter Joe Brammer.
And while it may be the most important fight of his Mixed Martial Arts career, it is certainly not the toughest challenge he's faced in his young life.
While most MMA fighters train full-time in hopes of earning the toughest fights, Rad has to try and achieve that dream with less time in the gym.
Luckily Rad Martinez isn't like most fighters.
Life has dealt him a difficult hand and he has quietly taken to creating success where others might wallow in self-pity. The West Jordan High graduate has to balance wrestling, boxing and martial arts training with the very labor-intensive job of caring for his 52-year-old father.
Richard Martinez suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 1991 car accident and has been in a near-vegetative state ever since. Rad lost his mother a couple of years before the accident nearly stole his father from him. He and his brother, Levi, lived with his father's brother for a few years and eventually moved in with his paternal grandparents in West Jordan.
His grandmother took care of his father, but after she was diagnosed with cancer, Rad promised her he'd care for her son after her death.
That was several years ago. Now Rad's days are filled with ritual and routine. While most men his age are starting families and seeking adventure, he and his grandfather care for Richard's every need in their modest West Jordan home.
The reward for sacrificing his own life is simply being able to love his dad a little longer.
"He's no better, no worse," Rad said when asked about his father's condition. "No news is good news."
While Rad can occasionally coax his father into giving him a kiss, he isn't even sure Richard is aware of who he is.
Rad does know, however, that his father likes "The Price is Right," so every morning the three of them sit in front of the television and watch other people try to win money, prizes and vacations.
When it's lunchtime, Rad asks his father what he would like. He doesn't get a response, but he continues talking to him about the food choices anyway.
Rad feeds his father, wiping his mouth between bites, and shares the stories of his life. He'll likely never know if his father understands the importance of what he tells him.
Rad changes him, bathes him and helps a physical therapist exercise his muscles.
And while Rad considers taking care of his father his primary job, he hopes to make a career in MMA. The former college wrestling champion went pro in 2008 and has only lost one fight.
With a record of 8-1, he will take on Brammer, in what will be the co-main event of the ZAR MMA Fight Night at the Davis Conference Center on Friday, Nov. 12. In addition to Rad's fight with Brammer, there will be 10 other fights, five of which feature UFC veterans. Tickets can be purchased at www.zarmma.com.
ESPN will be doing a story on Rad and his hope is that while a national spotlight is on him, the kid from West Jordan will prove he's capable of fighting at the MMA's highest levels.
"I hope to show I've improved," Rad said. "I hope it doesn't go all three rounds, and I hope to have a pretty convincing victory."
Asked if having national attention might add pressure to a fight that is already the most important in his career, he offers his usual practical analysis. It might, he said, but not for long.
"Once I get in the cage and the ref tells us to start fighting, I won't even think about it," he said.
Rad's road to the UFC was made more complicated last winter when his grandfather broke his shoulder. Because the two of them share some of the duties associated with caring for Richard, Rad had to do even more.
In May, Rad broke his hand in a fight he took at the last minute in Colorado. While he earned the win, he had to have surgery two weeks later.
"For a couple of months, I wasn't able to do much of anything," he said.
The broken hand made training difficult but it also made caring for his father more challenging.
He tried in increase his time in the gym, but he worries that his father's physical therapy isn't rigorous enough without him there to do it. He still isn't able to put in the hours that his peers do.
"There is still the goal," he said of making it to the UFC. "Sometimes, though, the hill seems to get, steeper. Especially with some of the things that have happened lately."
One thing gives Martinez hope, besides his ability in the cage. This summer he watched as Court McGee, a Layton man who struggled with drug addiction, fought his way to the Ultimate Fighter's top prize — a spot in the UFC. McGee and Martinez trained together at the Riven Academy in Orem.
"Sometimes when it feels like its never going to happen for me, it kind of makes me feel like I could get there a little bit in some way to see a friend make it," he said. "He's just a really, really good guy and I'm happy for him."
It's especially inspiring because McGee had so much to overcome en route to MMA's top tier of fighters.
"It's exciting to know the guy," said Rad, "to know what he's gone through, and see him make it."
And win or lose next weekend, his life will still be focused on his dad. He believes his affection will extend, possibly improving the quality of his father's life.
Rad Martinez loves the sport and wants to win all it has to offer. But he also realizes that in truth, loving his dad, keeping a promise to his grandmother and honoring his grandfather will bring the kind of rewards that are ultimately more valuable and more satisfying than anything found in the cage.
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com