Martin Nguyen says he made mistakes in training that led to loss to Ilya Freymanov

Martin Nguyen takes full responsibility for his latest loss inside the circle.

‘The Situ-Asian’ has been one of the most successful fighters in ONE Championship history, boasting an incredible 91% finish rate and holding the distinction of being the promotion’s first-ever two-division ONE world champion.

Recent years have not been so kind to Nguyen, who has dropped three of his last four bouts. That includes a brutal first-round knockout against Russian standout Ilya Freymanov in his last outing.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Nguyen took responsibility for his poor performance, admitting that he was ill-prepared for the challenge that Freymanov represented in their ONE on Prime Video 2 clash:

“It was an ill preparation on my end,” Nguyen admitted. “I love being fair and square. I got beat up pretty badly. And that was all my fault because of my lack of preparation. I didn’t spar. I trained two days a week, two times a day, kind of just went on my own pace.”

Martin Nguyen returns to the circle this Friday night at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. He has another tough task ahead of him in the form of undefeated 22-year-old Kyrgyzstan native Razhab Shaydullaev.

Making his promotional debut, Shaydullaev will enter the bout with a 6-0 record, all via finish with four submissions and two by way of knockout.

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Martin Nguyen’s back is against the wall going into ONE Fight Night 7 matchup

At just 33 years old, Martin Nguyen could have many more years competing at the highest level. However, his back is undeniably against the wall going into his high-stakes matchup at ONE Fight Night 7.

Dropping three out of his last four, ‘The Situ-Asian’ is not only gunning to stay relevant in the ONE featherweight title picture, but he’s also fighting for his job.

Sharing thoughts on his future with ONE Championship, Nguyen said:

"I don’t know, man. I’m just going to take this fight one fight at a time. I know this will probably be the last fight on my contract so we’ll see what happens in there, in this fight. I’m just going to take it as it goes and go from there."

Since debuting for the promotion in 2014, Nguyen has bested some of the biggest names in ONE Championship history, including Marat Gafurov, Eduard Folayang, and Narantungalag Jadambaa. He is also the only man to defeat current two-division ONE world champion Christian Lee on two separate occasions, including a finish against ‘The Warrior'.

No matter what happens, Martin Nguyen will always have the support of ONE Championship fans around the world.

Fans in North America will be able to watch ONE Fight Night 7 live and for free on Prime Video in U.S. primetime this Friday, February 24, with an active Amazon subscription.