“Punch each other’s face in” – Martin Nguyen expects full-on war with Garry Tonon at ONE 165

Former double ONE world champion Martin Nguyen is expecting a banger of a contest in his scheduled showdown against American fighter Garry Tonon this weekend.

‘The Situ-Asian’ clashes with the ‘The Lion Killer’ in a featherweight MMA showdown between contenders at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru. The event takes place on January 28 in Tokyo, Japan.

Tonon vs. Nguyen is part of the marquee offering, which will take place at the Ariake Arena and air live via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

It will be the first fight back for 34-year-old Nguyen, who was last in action in February 2023, when he was a unanimous decision winner over Brazilian Leonardo Casotti.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Australian-Vietnamese fighter, who is the former featherweight and lightweight MMA world champion, shared how he sees his fight with Tonon will go down and the mindset he has.

Martin Nguyen said:

“I respect him and all the accolades that he is accomplishing, I'm pretty sure he feels mutual in the same way as well. So, we're just going to go in there, punch each other’s face in, try to break each other's bones, get paid and move on.

“I don't feel that there's any animosity or anything like that. There's not a bit of animosity bone in my body and I'm sure he feels the same way, it's just competition.”

Nguyen is currently the third-ranked contender in the ONE featherweight MMA division. For his part, Garry Tonon, the top-ranked contender, is seeking to make it three wins a row at ONE 165.

The winner of the match between Tonon and Nguyen could possibly get a title shot next.

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Martin Nguyen seeks to employ various ways to defeat Garry Tonon at ONE 165

Australian-Vietnamese fighter Martin Nguyen said he has prepared various ways to deal with upcoming opponent Garry Tonon and earn a victory in their showdown at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru.

The two top-ranked fighters in the featherweight class are featured in an MMA showdown at the event, which marks the return of ONE Championship to the 'Land of the Rising Sun' after nearly five years.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, ‘The Situ-Asian’ shared that he and his team left no stone unturned in their preparation for the showdown against ‘The Lion Killer.’ He said:

“As I just said, it's not just a jiu-jitsu fight at all. Garry is a very very great jiu-jitsu practitioner, probably one of the best in the world, but again, it's not a jiu-jitsu fight. I feel jiu-jitsu itself is a great art to have under your belt, for sure…”

He added:

“But, you know, this is, as I said, it's mixed martial arts. It's a mix of everything together, you know? You have so many variety of ways to win and I’m gonna show that in the fight.”

Watch the interview below:

Martin Nguyen is seeking to make another go at the featherweight MMA world title he once simultaneously held with the lightweight gold with a victory at ONE 165.