“He’s good at what he does” – Martin Nguyen understands why Garry Tonon is top of the stack in the featherweight ranks

Former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen is not all surprised that his upcoming opponent Garry Tonon is highly regarded in the featherweight division. He believes that the American fighter has the skills to back his lofty standing.

‘The Situ-Asian’ will battle ‘The Lion Killer’ on Sunday, January 28, in a featured featherweight MMA clash at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru in Tokyo, Japan. It is part of an 11-fight offering, happening at the Ariake Arena.

In an interview with From The Stands podcast, 34-year-old Nguyen shared his thoughts on Tonon, who is the top-ranked contender in the division and a former world title challenger, saying:

“So yeah, fighting Garry Tonon, giving him all props and respect, he’s good at what he does. He’s on a two-fight winning streak, you know. He deserves to be in the top five in this division. He's pretty talented and he's done what he needed to do to get the right fights, to get closer to that rematch [versus Thanh Le].”

Check out the interview below:

But despite being up against a formidable opponent, Martin Nguyen is undeterred as he is fully committed to returning to the top of the division he once ruled along with the lightweight class.

He is coming off a unanimous decision victory in his last fight in February 2023 over Brazilian Leonardo Casotti. Garry Tonon, meanwhile, has won back-to-back matches, the most recent over Russian Shamil Gasanov back in July by second-round submission.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will air live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

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Martin Nguyen has crafted a special game plan for Garry Tonon

Knowing what his upcoming opponent is capable of, Martin Nguyen said he and his team have prepared well for Garry Tonon, including his noted grappling game.

The former ONE featherweight and lightweight world champion will collide with American grappling ace Tonon at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on Sunday, January 28, in Tokyo, Japan.

Martin Nguyen told the South China Morning Post in an interview that as much as possible they did the right things in training in preparation for his upcoming fight, including countering the wrestling of Tonon.

The Australian-Vietnamese fighter said:

“Let that be known, it’s not just a jiu-jitsu fight in this fight, you know. I feel like I did the right things so we'll see. I felt like I've done the right things throughout this whole fight camp, so it's been a whole jiu-jitsu and anti-wrestling. So, like I said, my team has prepared me well and I can't wait to go in there and show the fans a great fight.”

See the full interview below:

Both fighters are currently inside the top five of the featherweight MMA division, with Tonon at No. 1 and Nguyen at No. 3. A win at ONE 165 should set them up for a world title shot after.