“MMA fighting isn't a priority over there” - Martin Nguyen shares the struggle of training in his home of Australia

For his fight later this month at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, former two-division world champion Martin Nguyen made the tough decision to set up camp outside his home country of Australia.

'The Situ-Asian' has been in the United States for the past few months, training at Kill Cliff FC in Florida.

Explaining his decision to train abroad, Martin Nguyen, 33, said he saw it fit to do so to prepare himself better for what he considers an important fight at this stage of his career.

He told ONE Championship in an interview:

“Australia has the best coaches, the best trainers, and the best fighters. But you know, MMA fighting isn't a priority over there. Working for your rent or working just in general always comes first. MMA and your training are always on the back burner. It's a second choice. So, me going into training always was like, 'Do I have a training partner today or not?'”

Martin Nguyen is hoping that the sacrifices he had to make in leaving home for training, especially time with his family, will pay off when he collides with Russian Shamil 'The Cobra' Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 7 at the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

The Vietnamese-Australian fighter is coming off a loss in his previous fight and is out to bounce back and leave his recent struggles behind.

Gasanov, meanwhile, will look to make it back-to-back wins after impressing with a submission victory in his promotional debut last October.

ONE Fight Night 7 will be aired live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

---

Martin Nguyen talks about light atmosphere at Kill Cliff and why it’s important

Deciding to train abroad for his upcoming fight has entailed a lot of sacrifices for former two-division world champion Martin Nguyen, but these have been cushioned by the balance of work and play in their camp.

'The Situ-Asian' left Australia late last year to focus on training at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, U.S.A. This is in preparation for his upcoming showdown with Shamil Gasanov on February 24 at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video in Bangkok.

Martin Nguyen shared that they have been hard at work in training but also make sure that they are also having fun after it. He made mention of fellow fighter Jason Jackson, who he said never fails to bring in good vibes after training. Jackson competes in Bellator MMA.

Martin Nguyen told SCMP MMA in an interview:

“We had to get [Jackson]. He’s the team clown and he always brings good vibes. As I said in the description, when we train, we train. There’s no clowning around. When we play afterwards and we have a laugh, we kind of have the good vibes hanging around, so yeah."

He added that such an atmosphere is crucial in what they are trying to achieve in training:

“One hundred percent you got to break it out, man. You got to love what you do.”

Watch the interview below:

Apart from Jackson, also training at Kill Cliff FC is former ONE two-division world champion Aung La N Sang, whose recent string of successes is motivating Martin Nguyen to do well in his return to action.