Former double-champ Martin Nguyen reacts to Ilya Freymanov loss backstage

Martin Nguyen (L) was in shock after getting knocked out by Ilya Freymenov (R) at ONE on Prime Video 2. | Photo by ONE Championship
Martin Nguyen (L) was in shock after getting knocked out by Ilya Freymenov (R) at ONE on Prime Video 2. | Photo by ONE Championship

Former ONE featherweight and lightweight world champion Martin Nguyen is no stranger to the unforgiving reality of the hurt business. You win some, you lose some.

The Vietnamese-Australian slugger, of course, has been on both sides of the equation. He enjoyed the spoils of victory when he reached the pinnacle of the sport by winning simultaneous world titles, but also felt the anguish that comes with defeat every time he fell short.

Over the weekend, at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs Lee III, ‘The Situ-Asian’ found himself on the short end of the stick yet again, losing via TKO to Ilya Freymanov.

Martin Nguyen was bested in a shocking fashion, as he got blitzed by the promotional newcomer in the first round. Freymanov dropped him with a beautiful straight followed by a torrent of wicked knees, forcing the referee to halt the match at the 3:33 mark of the opening frame.

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A visibly disappointed Nguyen summed up his grief, as he made his walk back to the locker room after the fight. The Kill Cliff MMA fighter said:

“Not the time, this time, I guess.”

Watch the heartbreaking moment below:

Martin Nguyen, 33, was hoping to start another winning streak after vacating the 170-pound title in 2018 due to injury and losing the 155-pound gold strap to Thanh Le in 2020.

Following back-to-back KO losses to Le and Kim Jae Woong, the current No.3-ranked featherweight turned the tide by starching Kirill Gorobets this past March.

The high from that victory, though, was shortlived, as Freymanov crushed his momentum before it even began.


Ilya Freymanov delivers on his promise to KO Martin Nguyen

Ilya Freymanov was a relatively unknown fighter before he shared the circle with the former two-division world champion. Safe to say, his stock skyrocketed after convincingly dispatching a high-caliber opponent like Martin Nguyen, in his promotional debut, no less.

In the build-up to the fight, the 26-year-old Russian, who now sports an 11-2 MMA record, vowed to shock the world with a beautiful knockout.

He told ONE:

“My advice to the audience is to not blink and watch the fight carefully so they don’t miss my win. I will be looking to deliver a beautiful knockout.”

Freymanov did just that. Aside from imposing his will against the veteran fighter, he barely took any damage since he was able to neutralize Nguyen’s biggest strength – that game-changing right hand.

The Kuznya Fight Club standout used his length to his advantage and kept Nguyen at bay. When the opportunity presented itself, he went for the kill and established himself as a new contender in the 155-pound ranks.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard
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