"It was my dream match" - Shamil Gasanov thrilled to face Martin Nguyen in Australian icon's last fight

Following his unanimous decision win over former two-division MMA world champion Martin Nguyen at ONE 171: Qatar last Thursday evening, Russian MMA juggernaut Shamil Gasanov revealed that this was his dream match.

During his talk with Mitch Chilson inside the ring, Shamil Gasanov mentioned that he has been a fan of Nguyen since his high school days and vividly remembers his epic matches with Marat Gafurov.

Furthermore, Shamil Gasanov paid respect to 'The Situ-Asian' by giving him his flowers and saying that it was a tough fight for him:

"I want to say, first, Alhamdulillah, for everything. Today, was a very hard fight. Martin Nguyen, he's a real warrior. I seen him fighting since [I was] in school. His fight with Marat Gafurov. Now, today, it was my dream match with Martin. Thank you, Martin. You're a real warrior. Today was a really hard fight for me. Thank you, bro."

Following this defeat, the Australian-Vietnamese legend announced his retirement from the sport after 11 years of competing in 20 fights under the world's largest martial arts organization.

During this stretch, he accumulated an impressive record of 12 wins and eight losses. He also became the first two-division MMA world champion in ONE Championship history.

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Martin Nguyen explains his decision to hang up the gloves after his fight with Shamil Gasanov

Nguyen said that his decision to retire from competing professionally was a byproduct of the gut feeling he discerned after many years of showcasing his skills inside the ring.

According to the 35-year-old athlete, he has given everything he can for the sport, and it is now the right time to call it quits.

He explained this during his post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson shortly after dropping a defeat on the scorecards to Shamil Gasanov:

"It's a blessing to be in here. But as you know, when the time comes, the time comes. And I feel my time is now. I feel like I've done everything I could, even in that fight as well. I'm not trying to take the spotlight away from Bibiano [Fernandes], but I'm pretty sure today is my last ride."

Fans can rewatch all the action at ONE 171: Qatar via watch.onefc.com.