Martin Nguyen says any top five featherweight could book a title shot with exciting performance

Former two-division world champion Martin Nguyen believes he can still hang with the murderer’s row of top-tier talent in ONE Championship’s ultra-stacked featherweight division.

‘The Situ-Asian’ wants to keep his footing in the 155-pound ranks’ top 5 with a big victory at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs Andrade II.

This coming Friday, February 24, Nguyen will take on short-notice opponent Leonardo Casotti inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The entire card will air live on US Primetime and for free to Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Martin Nguyen, who has gone 1-2 after losing the featherweight belt, acknowledged the stiff level of competition in the division he once ruled.

The Kill Cliff FC standout told ONE Championship in an exclusive interview:

“For the champion, it doesn't really look as busy. But for the contenders, I mean, we're all fighting for the number one spot. And Thanh Le's got it at the moment, so regardless, I think, not really depending on where we are, I reckon whoever finishes fights more devastatingly in the end. That's what's going to sell a fight for the title contention.”

Given his struggles as of late, Nguyen has plummeted to the fourth spot in the rankings. The man who unseated him, Thanh Le, is still the division’s top contender, followed by Garry Tonon.

The third spot is occupied by Ilya Freymanov, who knocked out the Vietnamese-Australian fighter in his promotional debut.

Meanwhile, Nguyen’s original ONE Fight Night 7 opponent, Shamil Gasanov, is ranked fifth.

While ‘The Situ-Asian’ will now face an unranked opponent, he hopes to build momentum for a possible world title shot against the division’s top dog Tang Kai.

We’ll see if Martin Nguyen has one more run in him when he faces Casotti at ONE Fight Night 7.

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Martin Nguyen embraces underdog mentality on his path to reclaiming his world title

Even the best fighters in the world deal with adversity, and Martin Nguyen is not letting his bad luck as of late define his storied career.

While he may no longer be the spring chicken he once was, the 33-year-old knows he’s got a lot more left in the tank.

Despite having once conquered two divisions at the same time, Nguyen still sees himself as an underdog with a lot to prove.

Martin Nguyen made this clear during ONE Fight Night 7’s pre-event interview:

“I've been an underdog my whole life. Life has hit me so hard, so I don't really care. When it comes to the odds and all that in a bout, all I have to worry about is me turning up, me having the right preparation, me having everything set in place for when that bell goes, and it's me versus him, I'll do whatever it takes to win.”