Martin Nguyen hoping for ONE Championship to make its debut in Australia

Martin Nguyen has achieved a lot whilst competing under the ONE Championship banner. The 33-year old is the holder of one of the most impressive runs the promotion has ever seen, which saw him become its first two-division world champion.

As time in his career draws on, Nguyen still sees one goal that he hasn’t been able to tick off during his career and that’s bringing the circle to Australia.

Born and raised in Sydney, ‘The Situ-Asian’ has dreams of competing in front of his home fans in Australia by having ONE Championship make its debut on his home turf.

In an interview with the promotion, he said:

“I’ve been saying it. I'm coming on to my ninth year fighting for ONE Championship. And you know, I'm still waiting.”

Martin Nguyen knows that in order to keep his place as a high-ranked contender, he needs to perform on fight night.

The last few years of his career have been inconsistent inside the cage, but getting the chance to compete in Australia would add another career highlight to his already impressive resume.

Before he can get too carried away dreaming of bringing his promotion back to Australia with him, Martin Nguyen must face Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video.

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Martin Nguyen says anyone in the top five at featherweight can get a shot at the belt

Martin Nguyen is well aware of the importance of his next fight inside the circle.

Despite losing three of his last four outings, with the current landscape of the featherweight division, Nguyen could find himself in a world championship fight if he is successful on February 24.

At ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, the former two-division world champion faces the No.5-ranked featherweight Shamil Gasanov. With the division currently boasting arguably the most talent it has ever had at one time, Nguyen believes that a win over any of his fellow top fighters could be enough to secure a fight against world champion Tang Kai.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Martin Nguyen gave his breakdown of the featherweight division:

“I know Ilya Freymanov, if I had beaten him, I knew for a fact that I was going to get a title shot again. But obviously, things didn’t go my way. I don’t know if Ilya gets the title shot or Thanh Le gets the rematch – which I think he deserves. Who knows? If Shamil beats me, he might get a title shot. If I beat Shamil, I might get a title shot. I don’t know. We’ll just see what goes on.”

Nguyen is right to point out Ilya Fremanov, who defeated him last September. He will potentially be looking to face former champion Thanh Le or Garry Tonon next in order to solidify his status as the next in line for a shot at the world title.

Despite this, a big win for Nguyen at ONE FIght Night 7 could shake-up the rankings considerably. That means that nothing is off the table going into February 24.

ONE Fight Night 7 will be broadcast live and for free on Prime Video for all Amazon subscribers in North America in U.S. primetime on February 24.