Martin Nguyen admits he "slacked off" in preparing for his last fight and paid "the ultimate price"

Former simultaneous double-weight ONE world champion Martin Nguyen has struggled for consistency in recent years.

‘The Situ-Asian’ has picked up just one win in his last four appearances inside the circle. His fortunes initially seemed to be changing at the start of 2022. At ONE: Lights Out last March, Nguyen defeated Kirill Gorobets and looked the best he had been in his recent performances.

While he looked to use that victory to rebuild his momentum, Martin Nguyen’s second fight of the year didn’t go to plan for the former world champion. He was defeated by Ilya Freymanov in the first round.

Nguyen has since admitted that he knows he didn’t push himself to the absolute limit in preparation for that fight. In an interview with ONE Championship, he said:

“Where Kill Cliff is just, you go at the coach’s pace, you don’t go your own pace, everything’s offset there. And there are high-level fighters that keep up with me as well. So I kind of slacked off on the laziness side on my end, and I paid the ultimate price. So 2022, man, it sucks to end the year like that. But yeah, it’s a big eye-opener for me.”

ONE Fight Night 7 is live and free in North America via Prime Video.

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Martin Nguyen gets replacement opponent at ONE Fight Night 7 on short notice

At ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, Martin Nguyen will look to correct the mistakes from his last appearance inside the circle.

Originally scheduled to face Russia’s Shamil Gasanov on February 24, Nguyen was given a replacement opponent, allowing him to stay on the card and try to regain some of his momentum.

‘The Situ-Asian’ will now face undefeated Kyrgyz prospect Razhab Shaydullaev, who will be making his ONE Championship debut. Shamil Gasanov pulled out of his fight with Nguyen last week due to an infection that came from an injury he suffered in training.

Ahead of ONE Fight Night 7, Nguyen has been training in the United States at the acclaimed Kill Cliff FC in Florida. By making sacrifices and dedicating himself to improving his skills, ‘The Situ-Asian’ is aiming for a big performance on February 24.

Though the fight with Gasanov would’ve been a huge opportunity for Martin Nguyen to prove that he can still compete with the rising contenders in the featherweight division, a win over a different undefeated prospect will still go a long way to his aspirations of competing for the world championship once again.

ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24 is live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and airs live and free for North American viewers via Prime Video.