"What do you guys want to see next?" - Martin Nguyen contemplates next move in ONE Championship

ONE featherweight Martin Nguyen [Photo Credit: ONE Championship]
ONE featherweight Martin Nguyen [Photo Credit: ONE Championship]

Martin Nguyen is asking fans for their opinions on the next move for his combat sports career. The Australian-born fighter earned an impressive TKO victory on March 11 against Kirill Gorobets. The third-round finish broke a two-fight skid.

Nguyen took to his Instagram Stories to ask fans for suggestions about his next move:

"What do you guys want to see next? A) Fight Next TOP 5 Contender. B) Submission Grappling Match. C) MMA Super Fight. D) Sell Fruit at the Fruit Market."
Screen grab from Martin Nguyen's Instagram Stories
Screen grab from Martin Nguyen's Instagram Stories

Nguyen is currently a top-five fighter in ONE's featherweight division. Option A would likely lead him to Yoshiki Nakahara or Gary Tonon.

Option B, the submission grappling match, is becoming more common in ONE Championship. Two took place at ONE X and one is scheduled for ONE Reloaded.

Option C, the MMA superfight, could lead to many great opponents, including rematches against Christian Lee and Bibiano Fernandes.

Option D, selling fruit, sounds like a ton of fun. However, it might not be more exciting than cage fighting in ONE Championship for Martin Nguyen.


Martin Nguyen can handle losses and learn

With his most recent victory at ONE: Lights Out, Martin Nguyen can now breathe a sigh of relief as it snapped a two-fight losing streak. He is mentally strong enough, though, to be able to handle losses, learn from them, and come back stronger.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Australian MMA fighter said:

“I have no excuses. I take the loss [against Kim Jae Woong] as a man, but up until I got caught with that one punch, I was winning the fight. It was just a mind lapse of wanting to go for that shot at that very moment. I could have fought smarter and mixed it up a bit more."

He says it's important to understand how volatile the sport is and work to get better:

"There were options, but I let my ego get ahead of me once again. I landed a few jabs and I felt amazing... My opponent had studied me for that long. He just read it, had perfect timing and then caught me... All it takes in this unforgiving sport is that one punch and I’ve been there... Hats off to him, credit to him. I take the loss as a man. I go back, I get back to work and get better.”

With this in mind, Nguyen showed up to his March bout against Gorobets with a renewed attitude. He fought aggressively but was in control the entire fight. He won with a third-round TKO and is now looking to the future.

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Edited by Aziel Karthak