"It just comes that time" - Martin Nguyen stands by his decision to call it a career at ONE 171: Qatar

When former two-division MMA world champion Martin Nguyen announced his retirement from competing professionally at ONE 171: Qatar last Feb. 20 in front of the Lusail Sports Arena, it was already a firm decision for him.

This was the aftermath of his unanimous decision loss at the hands of Shamil Gasanov in their featherweight scrap. Nguyen doubled down on this decision when he talked to Nick Atkin of The Bangkok Post, where he explained:

"But it is what it is, brother. It just comes that time, and I just don't want to be punch-drunk by the time I'm 40 years old, fighting for a check. So this was the fight that swayed my career, and yeah. I'm gonna stand by my decision."

Watch Martin Nguyen's full interview here:

'The Situ-Asian' became one of the brightest stars under the world's largest martial arts organization after compiling a promotional record of 12 wins and eight losses during an 11-year run.

During this stretch, he made history by becoming the first-ever two-division MMA world champion in ONE Championship history when he captured the ONE featherweight and lightweight world titles.

---

Martin Nguyen is full of gratitude for his time in ONE Championship

The Australian-Vietnamese star couldn't help himself but reminisce on the beautiful moments he had with the promotion because parallel to his ascent to fame was the company's growth.

During the same interview with The Bangkok Post, Nguyen has nothing but gratefulness to ONE Championship, as he stated:

"All of them. I've had the best time in ONE Championship, and meeting all the staff, and seeing it grow from a small company to the largest in the world. And being able to ride that wave with the company, man, it's a dream come true."

Fans can rewatch all the action at ONE 171: Qatar via watch.onefc.com.