Lorain fighter joins Team Stipe on show

AVON » An hour before the premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated,” everyone at Avon Brewing Company was waiting excitedly for the show to begin — except the star himself.

Jose Martinez was no doubt thrilled to have countless of his closest friends and family on hand April 18 to celebrate his greatest fighting accomplishment to date, but the 28-year-old Lorain resident was admittedly nervous in the moments leading up to the show’s airing.

“It’s thrilling, it’s exciting, (but I’m) a little bit nervous, a little bit anxious,” Martinez said. “I’m just excited to see how the show turns out. We still don’t know what to expect on it. Overall, it’s a great experience, just a little nerve wrecking right now.”

Martinez was the only person in attendance who knows how the show will play out. He has been sworn to secrecy while it airs but said it hasn’t been too difficult to keep the details to himself.

Other than knowing what happened over the course of filming in Las Vegas, Martinez and the 15 other fighters will watch the show with the rest of the audience.

Until the watch party, Martinez hadn’t even seen a clip from the season.

Martinez was selected by current UFC heavyweight champion and fellow Northeast Ohio native, Stipe Miocic, to be on Team Stipe throughout the show.