“I felt like I won that fight” - Martin Nguyen argues he delivered more damage than Shamil Gasanov in their ONE 171 tiff

Martin Nguyen believes he did enough to get his hand raised at ONE 171: Qatar last week.

'The Situ-Asian' went the full 15 minutes against 'The Cobra' in their three-round featherweight MMA clash at Lusail Sports Arena.

Once the scorecards were read, Nguyen let out a sigh of disbelief after the Russian powerhouse took home the unanimous decision victory.

It appeared Gasanov's relentless chain wrestling and top pressure scored big on the judges' eyes. However, Martin Nguyen insists he got the better of the striking exchanges and should have gotten the nod.

The former two-division MMA world champion told Nick Atkin of The Bangkok Post after the match:

"In terms of damage, yeah. Shamil was bleeding. He caught me in that first round, which was, I felt I slipped more than anything. But didn’t even hurt me once and he just went back to holding me. I was hitting him, I was trying to be active without getting taken down."

The Vietnamese-Australian star continued:

"At the same time, I was trying to strike while he was pushing up against me. I’m not taking any credit away from Shamil. I felt like I won that fight, but it is what it is."

Watch the full interview:

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Martin Nguyen bids farewell in the aftermath of Shamil Gasanov loss

ONE 171: Qatar turned out to be the final chapter in Martin Nguyen's decorated career.

The 35-year-old icon left his gloves in the Circle shortly after and confirmed that he'll be ending his tenure as a professional fighter.

In his post-fight interview with The Bangkok Post, Nguyen explained his decision to sail off into the sunset:

"I have nothing left to prove in this division. Even though I still have a lot left in the gas tank and a lot left to fight, there’s no direction there other than winning this fight in general."

The full replay of ONE 171 is available via watch.onefc.com.