Chatri Sityodtong targets Garry Tonon and Martin Nguyen firefight, says match ‘could lead to a title shot’

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong feels a battle between Martin Nguyen and Garry Tonon sounds like a feasible contest to determine a future challenger to the ONE featherweight MMA world championship.

Top-ranked contender Thanh Le booked a shot at a unification battle versus divisional king Tang Kai with a 62-second submission win over Ilya Freymanov at ONE Fight Night 15 on October 6.

While that contest should hold top priority status to the first mentioned, the ONE head honcho believes Martin Nguyen and Tonon’s track record will only make for an exciting fight.

In a text response to the South China Morning Post, the self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist had this to say when asked about a clash between the two in the future.

He said:

“Yes, I like that fight a lot – a super fun fight for the fans and one that could lead to a title shot.”

This comes after a back-and-forth altercation between the pair on social media, during which both men expressed a desire to compete against one another.

On top of that, both athletes have staked their claim to challenge for the 26 pounds of gold with victorious outings. That is, of course, only once Le and Tang meet to decide the undisputed king.

Tonon has picked up two victories since the turn of the year – both coming inside the allotted time.

In January, he outclassed Johnny Nunez inside the first round before following up with a second-round submission win over No.4-ranked Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 12 in July.

On Martin Nguyen’s end, the No.3-ranked challenger returned to winning ways against Leonardo Casotti following a defeat to Ilya Freymanov in October last year.

Although he has struggled to string together a positive run over the past couple of years, the Australian-Vietnamese athlete remains a threat to any of the top fighters in the stacked division.

While a fight between Tonon and Nguyen would light up the global stage of ONE, the unification clash and rematch between Le and Tang should be a far more explosive affair with so much at stake.