The Official One Championship Discussion Topic

Interview with Martin Nguyen

Cliffs:
  • Plans to defend the FW title next, against Kevin Belingon in Manilla on 27th July.
  • Says the top lightweight contender is Shinya Aoki.
  • Says Folayang (LW) and Gafurov (FW) need another win before getting a shot.
  • Fully expects the Gafurov rubber match to happen.
  • Wants a rematch with Bibiano.
https://onefc.com/articles/martin-nguyen-names-his-ideal-opponent-for-his-next-bout/
May 25, 2018

ONE Championship: What did you learn about yourself from that match with Christian Lee?
Martin Nguyen: I respect my skill a lot more. Christian is no joke when it comes to taking his opponents to the ground and imposing his will. Bibiano (Fernandes) could not take me down and impose his will on me. I backed it up against Christian.

Christian has taken out his last four opponents by submission, ground and pound, and his signature wrestling slam, so his ground game is legit. No one can ever question it. He has athleticism, and he is a ground wizard. For me to excel past his ground wizardry, I respect my skills 100 percent now.

ONE: You went 25 minutes with Fernandes in March, then again with Lee last weekend. Do you believe you proved something after all your other bouts finished quickly?
MN: Definitely. My whole career, prior to the Bibiano fight, it has been, ‘Martin has never been past the second round, so how is his gas tank?’ Everyone was questioning my gas tank, and I never had an issue with whether I could go five rounds, or even go three rounds.

No one has ever seen me go three rounds, so it was just a matter of time. Now that I have gone five rounds — not once, but twice — I am sure my cardio is not an issue anymore.


ONE: In both those matches, you wanted to get the knockout, but instead they went to split decisions. Does that bother you?
MN: It has happened twice now. Both of my opponents were wary of what I have, and they have been studying what I have been doing my whole mixed martial arts career. Now in terms of going 25 minutes with both guys, it was like a chess match. It was a boring fight [with Christian], and I do not like those type of fights.

The first thing I am going to do when this Saturday comes is revamp my whole game in terms of wrestling, and in terms of manipulating my opponents to initiate a strike, instead of them running away like both guys did. There is always a new learning curve and there is always room for improvement.

ONE: In your opinion, who are the top contenders in the lightweight division?
MN: Ev Ting he redeemed himself twice now since losing to Eduard [Folayang]. There is Timofey Nastyukhin, and personally, I think those two should have another fight or two.

The top contender I would say is Shinya [Aoki], just judging off the time he has put in, his track record, and everything [he has accomplished] in mixed martial arts. I would reckon he is the top contender. Eduard is still a top contender, too, but he needs a few more bouts before he gets another title shot.


ONE: Before the match with Christian, you said you thought Marat Gafurov was the number one contender at featherweight. Do you still feel that way?
MN: I still feel the same, but Marat is in the same situation as Eduard. Everyone thinks Eduard is the number one contender, but he got knocked out, and Marat got knocked out. Both have won their matches since losing to me.

Personally, I think they need another win or two, decisively, to get their title shots again. But in terms of Marat, there is no denying it: the trilogy match must happen. We are 1-1. Even I say we have to fight again.

In terms of fighting for the title, I would like to see him fight one more guy, at least, before [he challenges] for the title again.

ONE: Since you are eager to compete again, when could you return, and who is the opponent you have in mind?
MN: Realistically, I would want to return 27 July (at ONE: REIGN OF KINGS), which is in Manila, Philippines. And if Bibiano is out, I would fight Kevin Belingon for the interim title or number one contender spot.

Honestly, he deserves nothing but the best. He has taken out top contenders in devastating fashion. He is the one who deserves the title shot next. Belingon has to stay active, because he has to put food on the table for his family, and he needs to fight. If there is anyone to step up against Belingon, other than myself, I cannot really say who.

For Belingon’s style and my style, it would make for an exciting main event.
 
ONE: Pinnacle of Power
Macau, 23rd June

· Women's Strawweight title: Xiong Jing Nan (c) vs Laura Balin
· Flyweight title unification: Adriano Moraes (c) vs Geje Eustaquio (ic)
· Narantungalag Jadambaa vs Edward Kelly
· Li Kai Wen vs Rodian Menchavez
· Ev Ting vs Koji Ando
· Petchboonchu vs Fabrice Delannon
· Lerdsila Chumpairtour vs Sok Thy
· Alain Ngalani vs Tarik Khbabez
· Ma Hao Bin vs Danny Kingad
· Mario Satya Wirawan vs Rin Saroth

http://www.thefightnation.com/one-lines-up-jadambaa-ting-and-ngalani-for-macau/

Not sure about which fight is in which ruleset, but obviously Petchboonchu is fighting Muay thai.

This event will be in a RING
 
Angela Lee to move up in weight and challenge for STRAW -WEIGHT belt

ONE: What is next for your career?
AL: I am not sure because I have pretty much cleared out the atomweight division, so I would like to step up a weight class and challenge “The Panda” [Xiong Jing Nang], the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion, for her title. That is what I have my eyes set on right now.

ONE: What makes Xiong a great match for you?
AL: Just looking at her previous opponents, I do not think any of them have a game quite like mine, and I think I bring a whole new set of skills to the cage. She definitely has some raw aggression and power, and she trusts in her fists – she just swings. I think it will be an exciting match for people to see, too.



ONE: Are you driven to be the first female two-division ONE World Champion?
AL: Yeah, that is something I wanted, but knew I had to earn it. I just was not going to automatically jump up [and challenge for the title]. I wanted to defend this atomweight belt before I made a move to the strawweight division, but now I think it is time. I am finally closing the chapter on Mei, and looking forward to a new chapter in the strawweight division. I am really excited about that.

Full interview:
https://onefc.com/articles/angela-lee-confirms-her-intentions-for-new-gold/
 
Last weeks Macau card was the first of 4 events in 4 weeks.

After the card in Myanmar this Friday, the next card will be in China.
Probably the weakest for a while but here it is:

 
I missed this one, at wich hour started?.... since the app is available i ussualy pay more attention to ONE.... but i forget about the one of today
 
wada vs kai kara france 2? i likey.

shimoishi is also a solid signing.
 
So am I the only one who thought Sagetdao lost that fight?

Based on ONE judging which scores the last rounds more heavily, I could see how he edged it.

The young Thai definitely should have lost vs that tall French guy though. How did he lose 0-1 on knockdowns and still win in a close 3 round fight?
Thai bias is real.



Edit: obviously you weren't the only one after all haha
 
Amazing main event.

First of all I got actual shivers during Aung La entrance. That was one of the most amazing entrances I have seen. Not sure I've ever heard a crowd SO supportive of their fighter.

Was a very entertaining slugfest, both guys are well matched but gassed hard at the same time.
Aung La caught a second wind though, (maybe thanks to the amazing crowd) and took over.

Absolutely brutal 5th round KO which they didn't replay at all.
 
Angela Lee VS Xiong is going to be so much fans, it definetly qualify as a super fight.

Li kai wen is one of the best prospect in ONE FC IMO.
 
Based on ONE judging which scores the last rounds more heavily, I could see how he edged it.

The young Thai definitely should have lost vs that tall French guy though. How did he lose 0-1 on knockdowns and still win in a close 3 round fight?
Thai bias is real.



Edit: obviously you weren't the only one after all haha

Wow, did not expect that to be overturned like that but I like that it was. Also, definitely agree with you about the Thai bias. I thought Samy Sana won that fight as well.

Amazing main event.

First of all I got actual shivers during Aung La entrance. That was one of the most amazing entrances I have seen. Not sure I've ever heard a crowd SO supportive of their fighter.

Was a very entertaining slugfest, both guys are well matched but gassed hard at the same time.
Aung La caught a second wind though, (maybe thanks to the amazing crowd) and took over.

Absolutely brutal 5th round KO which they didn't replay at all.

Again I agree with you. That entrance with the crowd behind Aung La got me behind him too. Then the fight was very entertaining. They have a short compilation of the fight on the ONE facebook page and you can see Hasegawa just crumple from that final uppercut. Pretty wicked shot. The next two cards are fairly blah, but I will be watching and hoping for a Yodcherry victory.
 
Again I agree with you. That entrance with the crowd behind Aung La got me behind him too.
I work with a lot of guys from Myanmar, and from what theyve told me he is a legit superstar there, partly because of how rare it is for them to succeed in sports against foreign opposition.
In this instance, at least, the ONE hyperbole is grounded in reality.

The phrase one of my buddies used was "a role model for all young men". And that was actually a couple of years ago now, I can only imagine his star has gotten bigger.

I'm sure he's probably making bank too, at least compared to other fighters of his skill level which I'd put around the lower top 10 at best.
 
Back
Top