Former ONE featherweight champion Martin Nguyen is in a bit of a slump at the moment and recently gave props to the rising star who handed him his latest defeat.
Russia's Ilya Freymanov needed just a couple of minutes to finish Martin Nguyen on his ONE Championship debut. The victory catapaulted the 27-year-old up to No. 3 in the featherweight rankings.
He's quickly proving to be a championship-caliber fighter, and 'The Situ-Asian' didn't shy away from praising Freymanov. Nguyen told ONE:
"It was definitely a good performance. It surprised me for sure. He's a very good fighter. Obviously, he proved it that night as well. [He has] high-level kickboxing and a good killer instinct as well. He closed off the night with a win on his side. All I can say is that he performed well."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Ilya Freymanov is 11-1 as a pro, with most of his wins coming by way of knockout. There's no denying that he possesses a killer instinct when he competes.
Watch Ilya Freymanov take out Martin Nguyen in the first round below:
Martin Nguyen excited that ONE Championship is expanding into other countries
ONE Championship has big plans to host events around the globe. The promotion is set to debut in North America with ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in May.
The historic event is slated to be headlined by Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes in what will be the third leg of their memorable trilogy. Many other American-born fighters are scheduled to compete on the card as well.
Nguyen is excited about what the future holds for the promotion and its fighters. He believes that the best is yet to come, telling ONE:
"The step into the US market is the first step of many. I feel that he's going to open all doors all around the world. We'll probably be going to Europe soon as well, like, you never know. Just got to prepare yourself for the best. The best is yet to come every single time."
Make sure to tune in to ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 to watch ONE Championship make its North American debut in an event headlined by Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.
The entire event will be live and free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.