“This fight was very difficult” - Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat reflects back on tough fight with Johan Ghazali

Veteran Vietnamese fighter Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat had himself a tough battle against teen phenom Johan Ghazali last week, which made his victory all the more satisfying for him.

The 35-year-old Hochiminh City Muay Team athlete was a unanimous decision winner in his flyweight Muay Thai clash against 'Jojo' at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs Nattawut on June 7 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA following his victory, 'No.1' shared how tough his fight was against Ghazali and how proud and happy he was of the win, saying:

"After my win today, I feel very happy because Johan is very strong, he's young and he's on a five-match winning streak. This fight was very difficult for me, but I tried. I tried because I have my wife, my family, and everyone all supporting me. But I kept on trying, trying, trying, from the first round until the last round. So I'm very happy."

Watch the interview below:

At ONE 167, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat had to endure an early onslaught from Ghazali, who was connecting on solid kicks and heavy punches.

But as the fight wore on, the veteran striker found his groove and connected on solid kicks and elbows as well as combinations that slowed down and eventually got the better of the 17-year-old sensation on his way to claiming the decision victory.

The win was a bounce-back for Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat, who dropped his previous fight to Denis Puric back in December.

Ghazali, meanwhile, saw his five-fight winning streak since making his promotional debut in February last year come to an end.

Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat sees young self in Johan Ghazali

Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat was excited to take on Johan Ghazali at ONE 167 on June 7 in Thailand as he saw himself in the young fighter when he was starting in his Muay Thai journey.

The 35-year-old Vietnamese warrior made this known in an interview with BJPenn.com in the lead-up to their flyweight Muay Thai showdown at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.

Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat shared:

"Johan is brave, aggressive, and puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. It reminds me of how I had fought in my younger years as a fighter."

While impressed with what Ghazali brings to the table, it did not stop Nguyen from taking his challenge head-on and coming up with a unanimous decision win at ONE 167.