“Leave that in the past” - Former two-division king Martin Nguyen turns down idea of a Christian Lee trilogy fight

It may look like a super fight on paper, but Martin Nguyen has no plans of revisiting his rivalry with two-division world champion Christian Lee.

Nguyen was arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in ONE Championship in the latter part of the 2010s, having held both the ONE featherweight and lightweight MMA world titles.

It was in the 155-pound division, though, where ‘The Situ-Asian’ wreaked total havoc.

Nguyen is the only fighter in ONE Championship to not just beat Lee, but submit the now-reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Martin Nguyen said he likes Lee, as a person, and has no interest in taking another match against his old foe.

He said:

“I feel like Christian's a great guy man. I feel like if I were to fight Christian, it would most probably be down at featherweight, where it all began, you know, making a trilogy at featherweight. But I don't feel like Christian is making that weight anytime soon, and plus, I like Christian. I don't want to fight him. So leave that in the past.”

Nguyen first beat Lee at ONE: Heroes of the World in August 2016 via first-round submission. It took two more years for the pair to square off, and the rematch saw a vastly improved Lee.

‘The Warrior’ challenged for the ONE featherweight MMA world title, but Nguyen was still a step ahead and took a split decision win at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams in May 2018.

Watch Martin Nguyen's entire interview below:

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Martin Nguyen eyes road back to world title at ONE 165

Martin Nguyen has since relinquished the two world titles he once held, but the former two-division king won't stop his pursuit of the featherweight MMA throne.

Nguyen is coming off two wins in his past three matches, and he looks to continue that momentum when he takes on BJJ legend Garry Tonon at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on January 28 at Ariake Arena.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Nguyen said a win over the No. 1-ranked Tonon in Tokyo could land him a shot at the ONE featherweight MMA world title:

“I feel that I’m one fight away from earning my title shot. I don’t want to feel that it's given to me because I was the former champ.”

He added:

“So I want to solidify myself as a challenger by earning it and taking out whoever is in front of me in the rankings. That next person is Garry Tonon.”