“A true champion” - Fans have all the love for Martin Nguyen following his emotional retirement at ONE 171 in Qatar

Martin Nguyen received an outpouring of tributes from fans on social media after officially announcing his retirement from mixed martial arts at ONE 171 last Thursday, February 20.

The former two-division ONE world champion made his decision following a hard-fought unanimous decision loss to No. 4-ranked featherweight MMA contender Shamil Gasanov in their three-round showdown at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

It was a grueling contest for 'The Situ-Asian,' who struggled to fend off Gasanov’s relentless pressure from start to finish.

The 29-year-old Russian came out aggressively, constantly searching for takedowns and securing several throughout the bout.

Despite Nguyen’s efforts to keep the fight standing, Gasanov proved equally effective on the feet, landing solid right hands that rocked the former champion.

Mixing his striking with well-timed double-leg takedowns, 'Cobra' maintained control and sealed the unanimous decision victory in the end.

Even before the judges’ scorecards were announced, Nguyen was already having the tape on his gloves cut off by the cutman — a telltale sign of what was to come.

Moments later, in a post-fight interview with color commentator Mitch Chilson, Nguyen confirmed that this was his final fight, solemnly laying his gloves in the center of the Circle to mark the end of his storied career.

With his retirement, Nguyen walks away with a professional record of 15-8, forever etched in history as the first athlete to simultaneously hold two world titles in ONE Championship — reigning as both featherweight and lightweight MMA king from 2017 to 2018.

As clips of his emotional farewell circulated on Instagram, tributes poured in from fans, celebrating Nguyen’s legacy:

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Martin Nguyen gives way to Shamil Gasanov in title race

With the dominant victory over Martin Nguyen at ONE 171, Shamil Gasanov improved his standing to 17-1.

This keeps the Russian’s momentum in the hunt for a shot at ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai.

However, Gasanov may wait for a while as Tang would probably run it back with Akbar Abdullaev after the Kyrgyz pulled off a TKO win over the Chinese champion in a catchweight bout this past January.