Kim Jae Woong is fresh from his stoppage win over Tetsuya Yamada at ONE: ‘Big Bang’ Part II. That victory should see him break into the top five and he knows exactly who he wants next.
The Korean featherweight took to Instagram to announce that he has his sights set on former champion Martin Nguyen:
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Yamada was ranked at #4 prior to last Friday’s fight. He looks likely to lose his spot in the top five to the Korean who hopes to take on #1 ranked former champion Nguyen next.
Nguyen finds himself in an unfamiliar situation, with the Australian currently without a current belt. He had held the ONE Championship featherweight title for over three years and also briefly became lightweight champion during this period.
The Australian even dropped down to bantamweight in an unsuccessful attempt to become the first fighter in history to win ONE Championship titles in three different divisions. He lost to Thanh Le last month but remains one of the promotion’s biggest stars.
Kim saw his record improve to 11-4 with the win over Yamada last week. He probably hasn’t done enough to earn a title shot, having lost to Koyomi Matsushima earlier in the year.
But the Korean has firmly established himself among the division’s elite. He wants a shot at the former champion, and with both men likely to be ranked in the top five by the end of 2020, Kim might just get his wish in the new year.
