Former UNO two division world champion Martin Nguyen really wanted to get the win in his last fight and he did it by being as deliberate as he could.
‘The Situ-Asian’ outpointed Brazilian Leonardo Casotti by unanimous decision in their featherweight showdown at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24 in Bangkok. The win sent the former featherweight and lightweight world champion back into the win column.
Martin Nguyen took a more patient approach against Casotti, picking his spots and capitalizing on every opportunity he got for his vaunted counter-attacks with much success. Casotti had his moments in the fight, but the Vietnamese-Australian fighter made sure he didn’t get out of hand and that he was ahead until the end.
In a post-fight interview with SCMP MMA, Martin Nguyen shared what happened in the fight:
“He was kicking me too, so I didn’t want to take too much risk. He knew he was ahead in the rounds and he didn’t want to fall into a stupid position and get kneed and [change] the tides of the struggle. So I waited for that perfect moment and tried to finish it. But tough guy, man, tough guy.”
Watch the interview below:
For his last fight, Martin Nguyen set out to get the training he needed and decided to hold his training camp at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, USA, away from his family in Australia.
While he took defeat, Casotti still made a good account of himself, competing valiantly despite taking the fight on short notice. He was the third opponent for ‘The Situ-Asian’ after original foe Shamil Gasanov of Russia and initial replacement Razhab Shaydullaev of Krygyzstan withdrew.
Martin Nguyen says featherweight is ready for the taking and anyone can get it
Former ONE World Featherweight Champion Martin Nguyen wants to get back to the top of the division and sees the open field.
Speaking at the media day for his most recent fight at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video in Bangkok last week, ‘The Situ-Asian’ shared his take on the landscape in his weight class, which currently has Chinese Tang Kai as champion.
Martin Nguyen said:
“Yes, it is full of champions. That doesn’t look good because who is his next contender? It was meant to be me if I had won my last fight. Obviously, I haven’t now. I think Ilya Freymanov is calling Thanh Le. Thanh wants a rematch. Garry wants a title shot against Tang Kai. Garry just won his last fight against a non-contender. So this division is all over the place when it comes to belt challenges.”
Martin Nguyen is currently the No. 4 ranked fighter in the division, behind ONE Featherweight World Champion Tang Kai, Vietnamese-American Thanh Le (No. 1), United States’ Garry Tonon (No. 2) and the Russian Ilya Freymanov. (Number 3). Shamil Gasanov of Russia rounds out the top five.
‘The Situ-Asian’ is one of the longest-serving fighters in ONE, having been a part of the promotion since 2014. He once held the featherweight and lightweight world titles simultaneously.