Martin Nguyen still has featherweight gold on his mind

Martin Nguyen wants to feel the weight of 26.4 pounds of ONE Championship gold around his waist once again.

‘The Situ-Asian’ holds the distinction of being the promotion’s first-ever two-division ONE world champion, but in recent years, Nguyen has struggled to find his way into the win column. Nguyen has lost three of his last four, all by way of knockout.

Despite the recent skid, the Kill Cliff FC product believes he can turn things around and climb his way back to the top of the featherweight mountain. In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Nguyen said:

“Yeah, I would love to fight for the world title again and rightfully get back what’s mine."

Martin Nguyen’s last win inside the circle came against Kirill Gorobets in March of last year at ONE: Lights Out. Prior to that victory, ‘The Situ-Asian’ dropped back-to-back fights against Thanh Le and Kim Jae Woong, losing the ONE featherweight world championship to the former. After getting back into the win column against Gorobets, it looked like Nguyen was back on track, but meeting with Russian standout Ilya Freymanov quickly changed that.

Squaring off at ONE on Prime Video 2 in September, Freymanov made a statement in his promotional debut, knockout out Nguyen at the 3:33 mark in the very first round.

Watch the full interview below:

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Martin Nguyen faces a tough matchup with undefeated Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 7

When Martin Nguyen returns on February 24 as part of the stacked ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video card, he’ll face a tough test against undefeated Russian Shamil Gasanov.

Hoping to emulate the recent success of his close friend and training partner, Aung La N Sang, ‘The Situ-Asian’ could simultaneously stop the hype train that Gasanov is currently riding while getting his own career back on track.

Speaking to SCMP MMA, Aung La discussed Nguyen’s upcoming clash with Gasanov, saying:

“Every match he’s taken, nobody knows about these guys but they’re good, man. They’re really good. They’re young and hungry lions. And I still believe Martin’s got what it takes. But this fight is a tough one. Shamil is no joke, you know. He’s somebody to look out for, and it’s gonna be a tough one for him. That’s the life we chose, so let’s go.”

‘The Burmese Python’ was in a similar boat as Nguyen, losing two out of three fights and both his belts in the process. Aung La has since found his way back into the win column, earning back-to-back first-round knockouts against Yushin Okami and Gilberto Galvao, as he has now won three of his last four fights.

Fans in North America can catch Martin Nguyen’s quest back into world title contention at ONE Fight Night 7, which broadcasts live and for free on Prime Video on February 24.