“Let the ref call it a night for him” – Martin Nguyen confident he can switch Garry Tonon’s lights off at ONE 165

Martin Nguyen isn’t under any kind of illusions about what awaits him at ONE 165 this weekend.

On ONE Championship’s return to Japan, this Sunday, January 28, he will take on the No.1-ranked contender in the featherweight division, Garry Tonon.

Nguyen hasn’t been able to recapture the same form he had as a champion since losing his titles, but this contest could serve as a fast track back to the top if he is able to stop his opponent’s momentum dead in its tracks inside the Ariake Arena.

This potential world title eliminator presents a clash of styles between the submission specialist Tonon and knockout artist Nguyen. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the former two-division king is coming into this fight with a clear idea of how he sees the matchup playing out.

Keeping his composure and landing big shots is the name of the game for Nguyen this time around, as he told ONE Championship in a recent interview:

“In this fight, we're just going to go in there, stop his game plan, implement my game plan and, you know, let the ref call it a night for him.”

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The experience of Martin Nguyen will be pivotal to his success at ONE 165

Experience isn’t something you can teach and Martin Nguyen has got a wealth of time spent competing at the very highest level.

There aren’t many fighters under the ONE Championship banner that can say they’ve experienced the same highs that ‘The Situ-Asian’ has faced in the promotion.

This experience will be absolutely crucial at ONE 165 to stop him from falling into the traps that Tonon will set for him with his elite grappling credentials.

Staying a step ahead of ‘The Lion Killer’ will allow Nguyen to keep the fight exactly where he wants it, a situation where he has the best chance of winning the fight to secure another shot at the belt that was once his.

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