One Championship: Martin Nguyen open to fresh ‘champ champ’ tilt but wants title defence first
- ‘The Situ-Asian’ wants to ‘defend my legacy’ at featherweight on Singapore card in February
- Nguyen says ‘the option is always there’ for moving back up to lightweight
After two sparkling title defences, it’s been a frustrating end to 2019 for One Championship featherweight king Martin Nguyen.
“The Situ-Asian” underlined his status as a top contender in One’s pound-for-pound conversation with a highlight reel flying knee KO of Narantungalag Jadambaa in April, and an impressive TKO win over Koyomi Matsushima in August.
He was back training at Sanford MMA in Florida for a November fight in Singapore – rumoured to be against One lightweight champion Christian Lee. But that fell apart when Lee was drafted in as a late replacement for the injured Eddie Alvarez in Tokyo.
“I wanted one by the end of the year but I’m happy, I’m grateful we went 6-0 as a family this year,” Nguyen told the Post, after cornering Sanford’s Tial Thang alongside Aung La N Sang in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night. “We all had two bouts each and we finished them all in devastating fashion.
“I wanna come back first quarter, man. Tonight really sparked something inside me. But we’ll see what One Championship offer. You know me, I’ll sign on the line.
“I’ll fight anyone in that featherweight division, there’s a lot of guys that talk big games, I’m here to fight, I’m going nowhere. You can talk as much as you want to get the fight, I’m all for it. Just do your thing.”
Aung La promises Myanmar MMA protégé will only get better
The 30-year-old Nguyen (13-3) admitted the “option is always there” to move up again to lightweight, a division he once ruled as well. But he wants to defend his legacy at featherweight first – despite some lighthearted ribbing from middleweight and light heavyweight champion Aung La over who the real “champ champ” is.
“I’d love to go back to Singapore. I love Singapore, got a soft spot for it. February 28, that’s what I want,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m gonna get it or not. I’m gonna train and hope for the best.
“I’m gonna enjoy the festive season with my family. Once the talks start to happen I’ll organise my trip over to Florida. You’ll see a bigger and better Martin Nguyen next year – 2020, we’re coming for you.”
