As one of the most successful fighters in ONE Championship history, there isn’t much that can faze Martin Nguyen.
Ahead of his huge fight at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, he knows that he needs to defeat Shamil Gasanov to keep his place in the division’s top five. Coming into the fight with an undefeated record, Gasanov will look to add the biggest name he has faced to his record, and ‘The Situ-Asian’ knows what is at stake.
Whilst that pressure going into February 24 would be enough on its own, family life doesn’t take into account the weight of stepping inside the circle.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Martin Nguyen revealed that while he is focused on getting that all-important win, he has some personal matters to attend to before the fight:
“I don't really dwell on it. It is what it is. There are some things in life that you can control and some things that you can't. I'm still going to stick to the same plan. I'm coming home. I'm sending my second daughter and my son to high school. And it's my second daughter's first day of high school. So I get to be there for her as well as my family. I have to be there. I still have to be there for them, and do their school stuff first, and then I get to stay home an extra week and a half, two weeks, whatever it is before I fly for fight week.”
“I couldn't be any happier” - Martin Nguyen proud of his win over Kirill Gorobets in 2022
Whilst the last few years of his career haven’t been easy for Martin Nguyen, he has gained a lot of experience from them. The former two-division world champion has had some ups and downs in recent times, but he has proven that you can’t count him out.
After losing his world title to Thanh Le and following it up with a loss to a then-highly ranked contender in Kim Jae Woong, Martin Nguyen rebounded last year with a win over Ukraine’s Kirill Gorobets.
With a lot of pressure on his shoulders, he rose to the occasion and secured the win, something he must draw on going into ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Nguyen reflected on his win over Gorobets:
“It was just a blessing to get the win. Everything that I've worked so hard on with my coaches, the one-on-one time coming off the loss from Kim Jae Woong, I had to prove myself. I fought a bit smarter as well so everything was strategically planned and everything went well for that fight. I couldn't be any happier with my performance there.”
Whilst his momentum with the win may have been cut short by ending the year on a loss, the experience could prove to be invaluable as he prepares to face the undefeated Shamil Gasanov in U.S. primetime on February 24.
Fans in North America can catch Martin Nguyen in action at ONE Fight Night 7 live and for free on Prime Video with an active Amazon subscription.
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