“Down at the bottom” – Martin Nguyen gives his honest take on Garry Tonon’s striking ahead of ONE 165 fight

Coming into his fight with Garry Tonon at ONE 165, Martin Nguyen is under no illusions as to why this fight is potentially dangerous for him.

The former world champion has experienced a lot under the ONE Championship banner, but he has never faced a challenge quite like this.

On January 28, he will take on one of the great specialists, who is currently competing in MMA, by coming up against the elite jiu-jitsu skills of Tonon.

Where Nguyen will likely look to capitalize is when the fight stays standing and everyone knows that each round begins with both fighters on their feet.

Tonon is still evolving as a martial artist in each and every fight and that’s clear to see.

Nguyen evaluated where his opponent’s striking is currently at during a recent interview with the South China Morning Post:

“He does the right things to implement it into his game, where would it be on my list of best of the best? Probably down at the bottom.”

Watch the full interview below:

Martin Nguyen knows he has to be cautious at ONE 165

While he may not rate the striking game of his opponent all that highly, Martin Nguyen is still aware that Tonon presents a lot of danger.

What he makes up for in his lack of ability as an all-round mixed martial artist, he more than makes up for with his grappling thanks to his years spent as one of the best jiu-jitsu competitors in the world.

Tonon proved in his last fight against Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 12 that things do not need to be going away for him to find a submission finish.

He can end a contest in the blink of an eye before an opponent even knows what’s happening, and that’s what Martin Nguyen has to be careful of on fight night.

ONE 165 airs live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.