Martin Nguyen vs. Shamil Gasanov fight preview

ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs Andrade II on Prime Video opponents Martin Nguyen and Shamil Gasanov are on opposite ends of the spectrum at the moment.

The former has been struggling as of late and looks to reclaim his lost glory, while the latter wants to keep feeding his hype train after a stunning promotional debut.

Nguyen and Gasanov, currently ranked fourth and fifth in the featherweight ranks, respectively, will lock horns on February 24 inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The victor will rise up the pecking order of one of the most stacked divisions in the entire promotion and move one step closer to challenging the divisional king, Tang Kai.

As always, this high-stakes affair will air live in US primetime and free for all Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Let’s take a deep dive into the storylines of both fighters heading into their marquee featherweight match-up at ONE Fight Night 7.

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Can Martin Nguyen make his way back to the top of the division?

Martin Nguyen has endured the toughest stretch of his storied career, going 2-3 in his last five bouts. To make matters worse, ‘The Situ-Asian’ got viciously knocked out in those three setbacks.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Vietnamese-Australian slugger became the first fighter to simultaneously rule two divisions in ONE Championship. Now, pundits question if the former featherweight and lightweight kingpin is already past his prime.

Martin Nguyen, after all, didn’t exactly look like his usual self in his last outing against Ilya Freymanov. After exchanging heavy artillery early on, Nguyen got folded by the Russian with a straight right followed by a barrage of unforgiving knees on the ground.

Rewatch Freymanov vs. Nguyen below:

Not one to just roll over in defeat, Martin Nguyen went back to the drawing board and vowed to reignite the fire inside him. The first order of business for the 33-year-old was to sacrifice time with his family in order to train with his good friend Aung La N Sang at Kill Cliff FC in Florida.

Although being away from his loved ones was a tough pill to swallow, Martin Nguyen understands it will all be worth it in the end if he beats Gasanov in a decisive manner.

Despite his slump, ‘The Situ-Asian’ still carries one of the fiercest weapons in all of mixed martial arts tucked away in that right hand. All it takes is one good shot to the chin and it’s light out for anyone.

Martin Nguyen can’t wait to prove people wrong at ONE Fight Night 7.

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Shamil Gasanov wants to assert himself as the next contender at 155 pounds

First impressions definitely last and Shamil Gasanov arguably had one of the most impressive debuts inside the circle.

‘The Cobra’ drew knockout artist Kim Jae Woong at ONE on Prime Video 3 last year and asserted his dominance in less than a round. The undefeated Dagestani fighter was pure business from the start, negating the Korean’s elite striking by closing the distance.

Once he grabbed a hold of Kim, the 27-year-old grappler rag-dolled ‘The Fighting God’ with relative ease.

It was only a matter of time before ‘The Cobra’ sunk his fangs and forced Kim to tap via rear-naked choke.

Relive Gasanov’s stunning ONE debut below:

Gasanov made it look easy against a ranked opponent and will look to do the same against a former world champion. The Peresvet Fight Team standout proved he can hang on the feet against a KO specialist like Kim.

It will be interesting to see how Gasanov will fare against another headhunter known for separating people from their consciousness. Plus, combat sambo has taken over in MMA and Gasanov’s grappling acumen is certainly no joke.

A win against a big name like Martin Nguyen will catapult him to the short list of possible challengers for the division’s new top dog, Tang Kai.

Gasanov is out to prove that his hype is real and put the entire division on notice with a massive victory against Nguyen.