“It’s the example I want to set for my family” – Martin Nguyen says time away from loved ones is a huge sacrifice

Martin Nguyen wants to set an example for his family by continuing to pursue his dreams with hard work and dedication.

Between 2020 and 2022, Nguyen began being overlooked by some of the MMA community, as people believed his best days were behind him. Yet, the former two-division ONE world champion made a statement in February 2023 by defeating Leonardo Casotti by unanimous decision.

On Sunday, Nguyen plans to continue building momentum when he travels to Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, for ONE 165. Standing in his way of a potential featherweight title shot is former featherweight MMA world title challenger Garry Tonon, who is coming off back-to-back submission wins.

Ahead of his nineteenth promotional fight, Nguyen sat down with ONE for an interview to discuss several topics. ‘The Situ-Asian’ had this to say about setting an example for his family by continuing to give his best effort in MMA:

“It's the example I want to set for my family and my kids as well. When they look at it, you know, if you're going to give it a go, you're going to give it all you’ve got. Not half arse it, you know? That's how I see it, anyway.”

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Martin Nguyen is focused on regaining the ONE featherweight MMA world title

Garry Tonon is the number one-ranked featherweight MMA fighter in ONE Championship, with Martin Nguyen ranked number three. Although the promotion has confirmed nothing, there is a widespread belief that the winner between them at ONE 165 could earn a world title shot.

During an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Nguyen had this to say about his prioritizing a world title at this stage of his career:

“I’m at the stage in my career that I've proved myself as an athlete and a champion. My main goal that still keeps the fire burning inside of me right now is just getting the title back. That is my sole focus at the moment.”

On March 1, ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai will take on ONE interim featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le at ONE 166: Qatar. Both fighters will likely keep a close eye on Garry Tonon vs. Martin Nguyen, as the winners of the two fights could meet later this year.