“It's not a jiu-jitsu fight” – Martin Nguyen warns Garry Tonon that he has a ‘variety of ways to win’ at ONE 165

Australian-Vietnamese fighter Martin Nguyen sounded a warning to upcoming opponent Garry Tonon ahead of their showdown, which is scheduled to take place later this month.

The two top featherweight MMA contenders will clash at ONE 165: Superlek vs Takeru on January 28 in Tokyo, Japan. It is part of an 11-fight offering happening at the Ariake Arena and marks the return of ONE Championship to Japan after nearly five years.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post ahead of his ONE return, 34-year-old Nguyen said that he is aware of his opponent's fighting pedigree and particularly, his grappling. He went on to add that him and his team have prepared a game plan that addresses it in a myriad of ways.

‘The Situ-Asian’ said:

“As I just said, it's not just a jiu-jitsu fight at all. Garry is a very very great jiu-jitsu practitioner, probably one of the best in the world, but again, it's not a jiu-jitsu fight. I feel jiu-jitsu itself is a great art to have under your belt, for sure, when it comes to mixed martial arts. You mix a bit of wrestling with jiu-jitsu, and you are arguably one of, probably one of the best fighters in the world, or could potentially be one of the best fighters in the world.”

Martin Nguyen added

“But, you know, this is, as I said, it's mixed martial arts. It's a mix of everything together, you know? You have so many variety of ways to win and I’m gonna show that in the fight.”

Watch the interview below:

Nguyen, who is the former ONE featherweight and lightweight world champion, is 2-3 in his last five fights but was a unanimous decision winner in his most recent outing, which came in February last year over Brazilian Leonardo Casotti.

Tonon, meanwhile, has been on a roll of late, winning back-to-back matches.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will air live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

Martin Nguyen touts showdown against Garry Tonon to be a barnburner

Martin Nguyen believes fans can expect an exciting match against Garry Tonon at ONE 165: Superlek vs Takeru on January 28 in Japan.

‘The Situ-Asian’ battles ‘The Lion Killer’ in a featherweight MMA clash between top contenders. The stakes are high, as the winner could earn a title shot.

Given what is at stake and the caliber of the protagonists, Nguyen highlighted how his match with Tonon sets itself up as an instant classic.

He said this in the same SCMP MMA interview. He said:

“We both had our shots at the titles or own the titles and we want to get back up there and, you know, try to regain that title or get that title. So this fight with me and Garry, it's been a long time coming and it's definitely going to be a banger for sure.”

ONE 165 is Martin Nguyen's first fight since signing a fresh multi-fight deal with ONE Championship last year.