Martin Nguyen’s ONE Championship adventure looks set to continue. When the Australian signed with the promotion in 2014 no-one could have predicted just how successful he would be.
Nguyen won the lightweight title, then the featherweight title and narrowly missed out on the bantamweight belt. He couldn’t quite sustain that stellar form and is on what, by his standards, is a poor run of results.
Nguyen has lost three out of his last five. But he is coming off a decision win over Leonardo Casotti at ONE Fight Night 7 which suggested that the 34 year old still has plenty to offer.
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Highlight reel
Nguyen burst onto the scene by winning six out of his first seven ONE Championship fights, capturing the featherweight and lightweight titles in the process. More impressively every single one of those victories came inside the distance.
But while Nguyen has finished more than his fair share of fights he has also been ok the receiving end of some highlight reel KOs recently. By his standards the performance against Casotti was somewhat conservative, it was the first fight in five years he had won by decision.
Having been stopped by strikes in three of his previous four fights Nguyen appears to have decided to tone down his trademark aggression. But win or lose he remains one of the most entertaining fighters on the ONE Championship roster.
"The Situ-Asian" with the KO out of NOWHERE 😱 Will we see another DOMINANT performance from Martin Nguyen next time he steps into the Circle?#WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/wNrAHLowzQ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 22, 2023
Staying put
Having challenged for titles at lightweight and bantamweight in the past Nguyen plans to finish his career as a featherweight by the sounds of it. Despite having lost three out of his last five he remains #4 in the division and is determined to recapture the belt,
This contract has motivated me more than ever to get my title back! Letsss goooo!!!
Anyone in the top five is potentially one impressive win away from a title shot. But Nguyen will have to join the queue because #1 ranked Thanh Le has been promised a rematch with Tang Kai, who is currently injured.
There is also a bout coming up at ONE Fight Night 12 next week between #2 ranked Garry Tonon and #4 ranked Shamil Gasanov. The winner of that will surely be next in line behind Le for a shot at the featherweight champion.
So Nguyen will clearly not be at the front of the queue when featherweight title shots are being handed out. But his nine year association with ONE Championship is set to continue and the 34 year old will be looking to recapture the form that once saw him establish himself as the best pound for pound fighter on the roster.
