5 of Martin Nguyen's best knockouts so far

Former two-division world champion Martin Nguyen is one of the most successful finishers in ONE Championship, with 10 of his 11 wins not reaching the judges’ scorecards.

While he can be a menace on the ground, his heavy hands have helped him reach the pinnacle of two weight classes. Eight of his 10 finishes have come by way of TKO or knockout, electrifying crowds whenever he competes.

‘The Situ-Asian’ will get another chance to showcase his deadly power at ONE on Prime Video 2 on September 30, this time with the North American audience watching live on US primetime.

He is tasked with welcoming promotional newcomer Ilya Freymanov to open the main card of the historical event, which features three world titles up for grabs.

Before his much-anticipated return to the circle though, here’s a look back at some of the best knockouts of his ONE Championship run so far.

#5. Punishing Kazunori Yokota on the ground

Martin Nguyen went on a rampage after a failed bid for the ONE interim featherweight world title in just his second bout in the promotion.

He racked off three first-round finishes against the likes of hard-hitting contenders in Team Lakay standout Edward Kelly, Chinese knockout artist Li Kai Wen, and certified finisher Christian Lee.

In January 2017’s ONE: Quest for Power, world title challenger in Kazunori Yokota looked to put an end to Nguyen’s incredible run.

Yokota had not lost a fight since 2011, but had his streak snapped by the reigning ONE featherweight world champion, Marat Gafurov, in May 2016. Motivated to bounce back from his failed world title bid, the durable Yokota looked to play Martin Nguyen’s game to show that he’s not afraid of his power.

Yokota gave a good account of himself by engaging in some back-and-forth with Nguyen, tagging the Vietnamese-Australian star with timely hits and avoiding his lethal punches. That was until Nguyen found the opening to throw his patented overhand right that landed straight on the Japanese fighter’s jaw. As Yokota dropped to the canvas, Nguyen swarmed in to make sure that he doesn’t get back up.

Watch the full match below:

#4. World Title-clinching knockout against Marat Gafurov

Martin Nguyen suffered his first professional loss in 2015 when he met Marat Gafurov for the ONE interim featherweight world title. Considering he finished his first four opponents, Nguyen was certainly humbled to lose in under a minute to ‘Cobra’.

Like a true champion though, he battled back with four straight first-round finishes, including his masterpiece over Kazunori Yokota. He thus earned another chance to challenge Gafurov for the ONE featherweight world title. The event took place in August 2017’s ONE: Quest for Greatness in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Now more seasoned and wiser, Martin Nguyen battled back to his feet after another early takedown by the Russian to start their match. However, it didn’t exactly turn the tide in his favor, as Gafurov showed his own striking prowess.

In the second round, Nguyen fought off his rival’s takedown attempts and looked more confident on the feet.

With just under four minutes left in the round, ‘The Situ-Asian’ backpedaled from a stalking Gafurov before unleashing a lightning-quick overhand right. The thunderous blow met Gafurov’s face as he lunged for an attack and caused the world champion to fall flat on his face to the canvas.

Nguyen followed it up with a few more punches to his downed opponent before the referee stepped in to prevent any more damage to Gafurov.

Watch highlights of their epic second encounter below:

#3. Eduard Folayang bites the dust

With the ONE featherweight world title in his possession, Martin Nguyen decided to try what no one in the promotion has done before - challenge the world champion in the weight class above him.

The odds were stacked against him, as it meant he would have to face one of the most feared strikers in the promotion, Eduard Folayang. The Filipino star was coming off four straight wins, including a knockout win over Japanese martial arts legend Shinya Aoki to win the ONE lightweight world title.

Already considered ‘The Face of Philippine MMA’, Folayang looked like he was at the peak of his powers when he defended his world title against Nguyen at ONE: Legends of the World in November 2017. It didn’t help the challenger’s cause that the event was held in front of a hostile Filipino crowd inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

As expected, their match was a truly exciting clash between two creative strikers, who allowed each other to do what they do best on their feet. While Martin Nguyen shot for a takedown towards the end of the first round, that would be the only time that the pair would find themselves battling on the ground.

Amped by the loud home crowd, ‘Landslide’ looked like he was taking control of the match with his patented spinning kicks and heavy strikes. Nguyen remained patient and studied the timing of Folayang’s spins, and after the two-minute mark of the second round, he found the right time to uncork his own signature blow - the overhand right.

The power of Nguyen’s strike, combined with Folayang’s momentum as he spun, resulted in a scary knockout that had Folayang lying flat on his back. The stunned crowd watched as Nguyen checked on a motionless Folayang. After ensuring that his fallen foe was ok, Nguyen received the ONE lightweight world title to become the first two-division world champion in ONE Championship.

Watch highlights of their historic matchup below:

#2. Martin Nguyen’s flying knee vs. Narantungalag Jadambaa

Despite his dominance in the featherweight division and conquering the lightweight division, Martin Nguyen could not replicate his success at bantamweight. After failing to claim a world title in a third weight class and relinquishing the lightweight strap, Martin Nguyen reset his sights on defending the featherweight crown.

First on the deck was former ONE featherweight world champion, Narantungalag Jadambaa. The pair squared off at ONE: Roots of Honor in Manila back in April 2019, almost a year since Martin Nguyen’s last appearance in the circle.

Like Nguyen, ‘Tungaa’ has shown an ability to be dangerous both on the feet and on the ground, which led to a tentative start to their match. While being cautious, both fighters were able to throw some scary-looking punches against each other, but Nguyen also targeted his opponent with some leg kicks in an attempt to slow down Jadambaa.

It looked to be paying off as the Mongolian slipped after the first minute of the fourth round, visibly affected by Nguyen’s kicks to his lead leg. Smelling blood in the water, Nguyen stalked his opponent and hit a sweeping right leg kick that took Jadambaa’s foot off the ground.

As Jadambaa dealt with the pain and tried to regain his balance by jumping back, he dropped his guard for a second, which Nguyen took advantage of. For a brief moment, you could see Jadambaa’s face when he realized that he messed up, but it was quickly covered by a flying Martin Nguyen, who launched his knee to the face of his rival.

The blow instantly sent Jadambaa to the canvas as the referee quickly went in between the two fighters to end the fight. While it was not an immediate walk-off, Nguyen would not need to throw any more strikes to ensure victory.

Catch highlights of this mind-blowing knockout finish below:

#1. Kirill Gorobets learns Martin Nguyen still got it

In October 2020, Martin Nguyen finally met his match, when Vietnamese-American knockout artist Thanh Le ended his reign with a third-round TKO. When he returned on September 2021, he met a rising contender in Kim Jae Woong hoping to get back on the winning track. Unfortunately, it led to further disappointment as he the Australian suffered another loss, this time via a first-round TKO .

Just when it looked like Martin Nguyen’s best days were behind him, another young contender arrived to challenge him; Ukraine’s Kirill Gorobets. The Swedish fighter also had a flair for finishing fights, with five knockouts and three submission victories on his professional MMA record.

Looking to make a statement on his ONE Championship debut, Gorobets met Nguyen in March 2022’s ONE: Lights Out hoping for a spectacular finish.

Early on, Nguyen had trouble closing the distance because of the promotional newcomer’s glaring reach advantage and active feet. However, it was Gorobets who first went for a takedown, which he quickly realized was a bad idea, as he almost got trapped in a guillotine just over a minute into the match.

Gorobets employed much of the same tactics in the second round, making use of the circle to stay away from the dangerous strikes of ‘The Situ-Asian’. Towards the end of the second round, fatigue looked to be setting in for Gorobets, and Nguyen caught him in several bad spots.

While he survived the onslaught to reach the third and final round, the Ukrainian fighter looked much more gassed than Nguyen, who still had a spring in his step. Nguyen then threw punches, kicks, knees - everything but the kitchen sink - until the referee finally put an end to the beatdown.

Watch highlights of Nguyen’s impressive win below:

Clearly, Martin Nguyen is far from done. And he’ll be looking to prove it again when he takes on Ilya Freymanov at ONE on Prime Video 2 on US primetime on September 30.