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At ONE 165, Martin Nguyen faces a big task against an opponent that he respects very highly.
The 34-year old former two-division ONE world champion is a veteran of the circle at this stage in his career, so not much could be thrown at him that he is yet to experience.
This time around, there’s nothing but respect between ‘The Situ-Asian’ and his upcoming foe, Garry Tonon.
It’s hard not to respect an opponent like Tonon, who is a nightmare for anyone in the world once the fight hits the floor thanks to his time spent as an elite level jiu-jitsu competitor.
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The same could be said for Nguyen, whose track record under the ONE Championship banner speaks for itself and he has proven time and time again that he can never be counted out.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA, Nguyen revealed that there is no room for bad blood between himself and Tonon ahead of fight night:
“There is no animosity between us. I feel we both respect each other’s journey and the skillset we both possess.”
There might not be any tension for Martin Nguyen going into this fight, but there are certainly high stakes
The clash between Martin Nguyen and Garry Tonon may not have a title attached to it but aside from that, the stakes don’t get much higher for either man when they meet inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on January 28.
Nguyen’s bounce-back win over Leonardo Casotti last year was a much needed victory for him, but beating a guy like Tonon would put him right into frame for a title shot.
‘The Lion Killer’ is currently the number one contender at featherweight thanks to his wins over Johnny Nunez and Shamil Gasanov, with his one sole loss inside the circle coming to interim champion Thanh Le.
Tension or not, make no mistake about it, once these two men step inside the cage, only one of them can leave as the next man in line for a shot at the belt.
ONE 165 will air live on January 28 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.
