Martin Nguyen is one of the premier knockout artists in ONE Championship because of the combination of speed and power he possesses.
On Twitter, ONE Championship shared a clip that displayed both in a matter of seconds. The caption reads:
“⚡@MartinNguyenMMA is QUICK with it! #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship”
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In the clip, Martin Nguyen can be seen dropping a quick combination that rocked Koyomi Matsushima during his third ONE lightweight world title defense. The punch was so fast that it took Matsushima’s body a split second more to feel its effect.
It was the beginning of the end for Matsushima, who soon had his back to the canvas a few moments after the clip ended. Nguyen rained a barrage of punches that forced the referee to stop the contest in the second round of their matchup.
The Situ-Asian became the first two-division world champion in ONE Championship after defeating then-ONE featherweight world champion Marat Gafurov and ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang in 2017.
However, he failed in his bid to conquer a third division, absorbing a split decision loss to ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano Fernandes in 2018. He had another crack at the bantamweight crown when he faced Kevin Belingon later that year, but fell via unanimous decision to the Team Lakay product.
Following the fight, Nguyen relinquished the lightweight crown to focus on ruling the featherweight division. In his return, he made good on his mission and defeated Narantungalag Jadambaa and Matsushima with second-round finishes.
Martin Nguyen getting back on track
Martin Nguyen finally found a match in 2020 with the emergence of Thanh Le and Kim Jae Woong.
Le pulled a shocker when he stopped Nguyen in the third round of their clash for the featherweight crown in 2020.
The following year, it was Kim’s turn to surprise the world with a first-round knockout win over the Vietnamese-Australian.
While his twin losses sparked some doubt about his ability to keep up with the growing talent on the roster, the 33-year-old quickly squashed it earlier this year. At March 2022’s ONE: Lights Out, Nguyen knocked out promotional newcomer Kirill Gorobets in the third round of their matchup to snap the Ukranian’s nine-fight win streak.
The win put Martin Nguyen back in the world title hunt, and he is currently the No.3-ranked fighter behind top contender Kim and top contender Tang Kai.
He's eager to get back into action soon, and even asked fans what he should do next. Whatever he chooses though, he will surely add more excitement in the deep featherweight division.