Martin Nguyen got his MMA career well and truly back on track with a dominant performance at ONE: ‘Lights Out’. He put away promotional newcomer Kiril Gorobets with a barrage of punches in the third round handing the Ukrainian the first defeat of his career.
Nguyen has already beaten Christian Lee twice in MMA fights. But now he wants to face the former lightweight champion in a grappling match,
“If Christian wants to stay relevant, I know he’s not going to come down to featherweight to fight me, let’s do a grappling match at ONE: ‘X’,” Nguyen told Mitch Chilson in his post-fight interview.
Make it happen
The second fight between the two ended in a lacklustre decision win for Nguyen with Lee offering very little. But the first match finished fast with the Australian claiming a first round submission.
He wants the opportunity to submit Lee again,
“Let’s do it. I’m sure he wants to get that one back. I choked him out the first time we fought. I’m sure he wants to get that one back. Let’s make that happen.”
ONE Championship has been signing up some of the top submission grapplers in the world. Andre Galvao and Danielle Kelly will be making their debuts at ONE: ‘X’ while Tye Ruotolo and Kade Ruotolo both joined the promotion last week.
Nguyen comes from a jiu jitsu background too and would like to get involved,
“They’re signing huge grappling names and I came from a grappling background. I started my whole journey through Jiu Jitsu. And I know Christian might be there for his sister’s fight so why not make money out of it?” he asked.
Debatable decision
Lee last fought at ONE: ‘Revolution’ in September. He lost his lightweight belt to Ok Rae Yoon albeit only due to a highly debatable decision.
The Hawaiian wants a rematch with Yoon but Nguyen thinks a grappling match with him would be an interesting alternative,
“I know he’s not going to make weight anytime soon in the featherweight division and the fans and the media keep calling for a Nguyen vs Lee III, so let’s just grapple it out!”
