“We both are standing in each other’s way” – Martin Nguyen on crucial featherweight clash against Garry Tonon at ONE 165 

Former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen has every intention of working his way back up to earning a featherweight title opportunity.

And right now, Garry Tonon is standing in his way.

On Friday, January 28, ONE Championship heads to Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan for ONE 165. In the main event of the evening, reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek will put his title on the line against K-1 legend Takeru Segawa.

But first, fight fans will witness a series of can’t-miss matchups, including a high-stakes scrap in the featherweight division.

No.3-ranked contender Martin Nguyen hopes to continue his climb back up the rankings when he meets submission specialist Garry Tonon. Currently, ‘The Lion Killer’ sits in the No. 1 spot on the featherweight rankings, making him a perfect stepping stone for Nguyen.

“Right now, my plan is to fight the best guys in order to move up in ranking to deserve that title shot,” Nguyen told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview. “And we both are standing in each other's way.”

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Will Martin Nguyen continue his rise back up the rankings at ONE 165?

Martin Nguyen has struggled to find the win column in recent years, going 2-3 in his last five bouts with all three of his losses coming by way of knockout.

However, ‘The Situ-Asian’ looked solid in his last outing against Leonardo Casotti, suggesting that the ONE legend may have found his fountain of youth.

Tonon, on the other hand, has looked nothing short of spectacular outside of a brutal 56-second knockout he suffered against then-champion Thanh Le.

He has since bounced back with back-to-back wins against Johnny Nunez and Shamil Gasanov, teeing him up for another shot at ONE Championship gold, assuming he gets past Martin Nguyen in The Land of the Rising Sun.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will be available via global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.