Martin Nguyen says featherweight is ripe for the taking and anyone can get it

Martin Nguyen believes the ONE Championship featherweight division is wide open for anyone to conquer.

Nguyen is a former two-division world champion who is now focusing on featherweight. ‘The Situ-Asian’ is ranked No.4, with Tang Kai as the reigning champion.

The former lightweight and featherweight king attended the ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video media day, where he discussed the state of his current division. Nguyen said:

“Yeah, it's full of champions. That doesn't look good because who's his next contender? It was meant to be me if I had won my last bout. Obviously, I haven't now. I think Ilya Freymanov is calling out Thanh Le. Thanh wants a rematch. Garry wants a title shot against Tang Kai. Garry just won his last bout against a non-contender. So this division's all over the place when it comes to title challenges for the belt.”

The rest of the ranked featherweights are Shamil Gasanov (No.5), Ilya Freymanov (No.3), Garry Tonon (No.2), and Thanh Le (No.1). Since losing his featherweight title to Le in 2020, Nguyen has lost two of his last three fights, with an opportunity to bounce back at ONE Fight Night 7.

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Martin Nguyen had an eye-opening experience when he returned to Kill Cliff FC

Martin Nguyen thrived at Kill Cliff FC in South Florida before deciding he should improve elsewhere.

However, to prepare for his next fight on February 24, Nguyen returned to Kill Cliff and endured an eye-opening experience. The 33-year-old featherweight contender had this to say during the same interview:

“Going back there was a shock because I hadn’t been back there for 12 months, so I went back there and saw how much everyone had evolved and how much I needed to catch up on. It was a real eye-opener.”

Martin Nguyen was initially supposed to fight Shamil Gasanov before the Russian pulled out with an illness. He was then matched up against Razhab Shaydullaev before the undefeated prospect withdrew. ‘The Situ-Asian’ now has his third opponent for ONE Fight Night 7.

The former two-division world champion is taking on promotional newcomer Leonardo Casotti, who will look to make a statement on Friday night. The event is live and free for North American Prime Video subscribers.

Check out the ONE Fight Night 7 fight card featuring Martin Nguyen: