The 'stand up to a bully' narrative some push online is idiotic. Many bullies will kill you before they let you ruin their reputation. There is a prevalent bully myth that standing up to them makes them back down. Nonsense. There is also the myth that bullies are cowards. Untrue.
Many feel that they have nothing to lose and will kill to protect their ego.
It can go either way. Not all bullies are the same. Their hatred and how they act on it can come from different places. Fear and weakness or a sense of power a and a desire to use that power on others.
It's not black and white.
So yes, punching a bully in the face could work against some, but not against others.
With Incognito, I think we are talking a big, dumb, racist man who feels he is big enough that he can say whatever he wants. And he basically has been to this point. He probably would have loved if Martin had tried to fight him.
Either way it doesn't really matter. He's trash.