Martin Nguyen would love to fight Garry Tonon next

Before he could get carried away with talking about future matchups, Martin Nguyen had one objective in mind last week, and that was to have his hand raised at ONE Fight Night 7.

After defeating late-notice replacement Leonardo Casotti via unanimous decision to restore some momentum, the former double champion can now start to look ahead to the future.

Having originally been scheduled to face the No.5-ranked Shamil Gasanov until that fight fell apart due to an injury, ‘The Situ-Asian’ is targeting another competitor who is right near the top of the division.

BJJ specialist Garry Tonon is one of the only elite featherweights on ONE’s roster whom Martin Nguyen hasn’t shared the circle with. He is hoping to change that in the near future.

Following his victory on February 24, Nguyen spoke about a matchup with Tonon in an interview with the South China Morning Post, saying:

“I would love that, definitely love that. I know Garry loves that. So yeah let’s do it man, let’s do it and we’ll see what happens. Fighters fight man... It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Martin Nguyen didn’t want to "risk too much" against Leonardo Casotti

Former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen knew that winning by any means necessary at ONE Fight Night 7 was paramount for his career.

‘The Situ-Asian’ has struggled for consistency in recent years. After several changes to the opponent that he would be facing on February 24, there were even doubts as to whether he would get to compete at all.

Eventually finding himself stood across from Brazil’s Leonardo Casotti, Nguyen’s performance was measured and calculated. Whilst the fight wasn’t a complete shutout, the former double champion’s experience allowed him to control it for the majority of the duration.

During an interview with SCMP MMA after the fight, Martin Nguyen reflected on the contest:

“He was kicking me back as well, so I didn’t wanna risk too much. I knew I was ahead on the rounds and I didn’t wanna fall in a stupid position and get kneed and [change] the tides of the fight. So I kind of waited for that perfect moment and I tried to finish it. But tough guy, man, tough guy.”

‘The Situ-Asian’ had made sacrifices throughout his training camp to make sure that he was as dedicated as possible to his craft. After leaving his family behind to focus on his preparations, Nguyen’s focus was rewarded with the victory.