“He's got a long road ahead of him” – Martin Nguyen not impressed by Shamil Gasanov’s performance against Oh Ho Taek

Former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen got to catch the recent match of fellow featherweight MMA contender Shamil Gasanov and was not really impressed. He highlighted that the Russian seems to be limited in what he can offer and still far from being a true force in the division.

‘The Cobra’ headlined ONE Fight Night 18 earlier this month and defeated South Korean Oh Ho Taek by unanimous decision. The Dagestani fighter made use of his advantage in the ground to limit his opponent’s ability to employ his game plan on his way to the convincing victory.

But while he was happy with the win, Gasanov said he felt he could have done better in the match if he was not feeling the effects of food poisoning he had in the lead-up.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Martin Nguyen said despite not being a hundred percent, he still was not convinced of the ability of Gasanov to compete with the best in the division. The two incidentally were to face off against each other last year until the fourth-ranked contender had to pull out because of injury.

Third-ranked featherweight MMA contender Nguyen shared in the interview:

“That's all he has, literally. He just grapples and tries to get the choke and stresses out when he can't get it and gases out. It's at this level, gassing out at that level. So yeah, I feel like he's got a long road ahead of him, to be honest.”

Watch the interview below:

But despite his thoughts on Gasanov, ‘The Situ-Asian’ still believes they will mix it up at some point in the future and something he said will be ready for.

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Martin Nguyen returns to action at ONE 165

As he awaits a possible showdown with Shamil Gasanov, Australian-Vietnamese fighter Martin Nguyen is girding for his return to action on Sunday, January 28, at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru in Tokyo, Japan.

The former featherweight and lightweight MMA world champion will be taking on the top-ranked contender in the featherweight class, Garry Tonon, in a scheduled three-rounder in the event happening at the Ariake Arena.

Martin Nguyen is coming off the unanimous decision victory he had over Brazilian Leonardo Casotti in his last fight in February last year. It will also be the first fight he will be having in ONE since signing a fresh multi-fight deal with the promotion in the middle of last year.

His opponent, Tonon, meanwhile, is riding back-to-back victories entering ONE 165, with his last victory coming over Gasanov by submission in the second round back in July.

The winner between Nguyen and Tonon could possibly earn a title shot next.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will air live via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.