“I kind of have to stay in my lane” – Martin Nguyen says he won’t repeat ‘historic’ run at lightweight world title

The pedigree and legacy of former ONE two-division world champion Martin Nguyen speaks for itself at this stage.

While he is still involved in big fights, as proven by his upcoming contest at ONE 165, there was a period where ‘The Situ-Asian’ was on top of the world.

Nguyen made history in 2017 when he followed up his featherweight title win with a knockout of Eduard Folayang to secure the lightweight belt to become the first simultaneous two-weight world champion in ONE’s history.

While he had fond memories of that time period, the former champion also acknowledges that those days are now behind him.

In a recent interview, Nguyen told From The Stands that the lightweight division is not on his radar at this stage in his career, and that he remains focused on winning each fight at featherweight. He said:

“In a way, it's a bit sweet [to look back at my lightweight world title win] because I got to make history. But for that division, yeah, I kind of have to stay in my lane, for sure."

Watch the full interview below:

Martin Nguyen looks to return to title contention with a win at ONE 165

It has been four years since Martin Nguyen last competed in a world championship contest but all of that could change if he is successful at ONE 165 this weekend.

Beating number one contender Garry Tonon would surely earn the former champion a shot at the winner of the upcoming featherweight title unification bout.

Since losing his belt to Thanh Le, Martin Nguyen has struggled to string together wins, but his resume speaks for itself and he cannot be underestimated in any match-up thanks to his experience and knockout power.

He will be hoping that the same striking skills that made him a champ-champ will carry him to the win inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

ONE 165 airs live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.