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Former ONE lightweight and featherweight MMA world champion 'The Situ-Asian' Martin Nguyen of Vietnam and Australia made a shocking decision to retire from professional MMA competition after his fight at ONE 171: Qatar last week.
The no.5-ranked featherweight MMA contender Nguyen suffered a three-round unanimous decision defeat to No.4-ranked 'The Cobra' Shamil Gasanov, extending his losing streak to two.
However, the 35-year-old veteran felt it was time to hang up the gloves for good, saying he just doesn't have the fire burning inside him anymore.
Speaking to veteran MMA reporter Nick Atkin of Bangkok Post in a post-fight interview, Nguyen says he is at peace with his decision to ride off into the sunset, and is looking forward to what comes next.
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'The Situ-Asian' said:
"I felt like I did my part with martial arts in general and in terms of moving forward, I still have to figure that out. And with me figuring it out, I’m sure I'll be led into the right path."
ONE 171: Qatar was broadcast live from the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, last Thursday, February 20. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action via replay on-demand on ONE Championship's official YouTube channel or on watch.onefc.com.
Despite the loss, Martin Nguyen feels he did enough to beat Shamil Gasanov at ONE 171
'The Situ-Asian' Martin Nguyen may be calling it quits in his career, but he still argues he did more than enough to beat 'The Cobra' Shamil Gasanov at ONE 171: Qatar last week.
He told Bangkok Post:
"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."
Nguyen added:
"I was hitting him, I was trying to be active without getting taken down. 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."
