“I know what to do” – Martin Nguyen believes he’s equipped with adequate tools on the canvas to match Garry Tonon

Martin Nguyen believes that his lack of experience in grappling-only encounters would not be something that will force him to play second fiddle to multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Garry Tonon when they tango at ONE 165.

Instead, the former two-division ONE world champion remains confident that he can hold his own – even in the toughest scenarios – should the tide of his featherweight MMA clash get rough inside the Ariake Arena this Sunday, January 28.

The No.3-ranked featherweight contender stressed this point during a recent interview with ONE Championship ahead of his first fight of 2024, which marks his 11th campaign with the world’s largest martial arts organization.

Martin Nguyen said:

“Look, I'm no jiu-jitsu competitor. I'm not an IBJJF or ADCC type of competitor. That's not me. I probably won't see myself in that position ever. But if it comes to, you know, defending myself in certain positions, I'm fully aware, and I know what to do.”

With a knack for knockouts, it’s easy to understand why ‘The Situ-Asian’s refined craft on the canvas has been thrown under the bus.

For the most part, the Sydney native’s ferocious power in his fists has prevented him from showing what he has to offer in that department.

However, the 34-year-old knows his past fights will be a far cry from what is about to come his way when he meets ‘The Lion Killer’ on Sunday.

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Martin Nguyen praises ONE Championship’s impact on the Australian MMA community

His fight against Tonon aside, Martin Nguyen is more proud than ever that Australia has placed itself on the MMA map, largely down to the on-ground work by the community and ONE Championship’s efforts on a global scale.

The martial arts powerhouse announced an exclusive partnership in March last year with Seven Network, the country's leading broadcast television network, to broadcast live ONE Fight Night and ONE Friday Fights events across the market.

On top of that, names like John Wayne Parr, Danial Williams, Tyson Harrison, and Reece McLaren, alongside Nguyen, have only helped the cause in a positive way.

Touching on the Australian MMA scene, Martin Nguyen said:

“I feel that Australian MMA has always been getting a lot of traction. Now, ONE Championship is becoming more and more known to a lot of Aussies because a lot of Aussies are fighting on the cards now. So, they've kind of picked up a lot of traction there as well.”

ONE 165 airs live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.