Russian kickboxing specialist Ilya Freymanov scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career, defeating former two-division ONE world champion Martin ‘The Situ-Asian’ Nguyen at ONE on Prime Video 2. It took less than a single round for Freymanov to dispatch the ONE Championship icon and introduce himself to a global audience.
Following the contest, Freymanov spoke to the promotion about his memorable debut against Nguyen and his belief that ‘The Situ-Asian’ made the same mistake that all his previous opponents made:
“Martin underestimated me. Most of my opponents try to pin me down – they waste a lot of energy, and Martin was no exception, which played a cruel trick on him. He thought he was strong and skilled enough to move me to the ground.”
While Ilya Freymanov is more than confident in his skills on the ground, he truly shines on the feet where he has nine knockouts in 11 career wins. Following an impressive performance, Freymanov scooted into the No. 3 spot on the ONE featherweight rankings, the spot Nguyen once filled.
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No potential return date has been discussed as of yet, but it’s safe to say that the Russian knockout artist will see another top contender in his sophomore appearance.
Ilya Freymanov eyes dominance in multiple sports under the ONE Championship banner
At just 26 years old, Ilya Freymanov finds himself on the cusp of stardom on the global combat sports stage. His victory over Martin Nguyen turned a lot of heads and according to Freymanov, he’s just getting started.
Ready to take ONE Championship by storm, the Kuznya Fight Club product is eyeing not just dominance in the world of mixed martial arts, but he wants to test himself against the best kickboxers that ONE has to offer.
"I am interested in making my mark as the best striker in MMA and possibly kickboxing, the champion who rivaled top MMA stars."
Taking out a name like ‘The Situ-Asian’ in his promotional debut is a hell of a way to start that journey. The next step is to take out another high-ranking opponent on his way to a potential world title opportunity.
Already No. 3 in the rankings, that leaves either No. 2 ranked Kim Jae Woong or former featherweight world champion Thanh Le as potential opponents for Freymanov’s next outing inside the circle.