Martin Nguyen: Top 5 MMA 5 Finishes

Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen is an Australian mixed martial artist whose jiu-jitsu and kickboxing skills have served him well. He currently competes in the Lightweight, Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions of ONE Championship.

Despite having a big fan base in Asia, he is relatively unknown in Australia. On November 10^th, 2017 he made history by beating Eduard Folayang to become the first dual-division champion in ONE Championship history.

In 2018 he attempted a title in a third ONE Championship division but lost on two occasions. Bibiano Fernandes beat him by split decision in a fight for the regular Bantamweight title and Kevin Belingon beat him by unanimous decision in a fight for the interim Bantamweight title. However, Nguyen still went on to win the ‘Fighter of the Year’ award at the 2018 Asian MMA Awards.

He began to train earnestly in MMA at 22 years of age before which he played rugby in Australia. Martin is a true martial artist embodying discipline, honour, respect and humility as his core values. Stay riveted to your seat as we countdown Martin Nugyen’s Top 5 MMA Finishes (in descending order)!

Vs. Koyomi Matsushima — ONE Championship 97: Dawn of Heroes (Aug. 2, 2019)

Martin Nguyen retained his ONE Featherweight World Championship at the main event of ONE: Dawn of Heroes at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

The Vietnamese-Australian titleholder was lethal with his strikes, pressuring the Japanese challenger before unleashing a barrage of strikes as referee Olivier Coste was forced to halt the bout at 4 minutes 40 seconds of the second round.

It was Nguyen’s third successful title defense elevating him to 13-3, further cementing his status as the king of the Featherweight division.

Vs. Eduard Folayang — ONE Championship 65: Legends of the World (Nov. 10, 2017)

“The Situ-Asian” wrote himself into the history books on 10^th November. With a stunning one-punch knockout on reigning ONE Featherweight World Champion, Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, successfully carrying off the Lightweight world title.

Eduard launched into a spinning back kick, but Nguyen was ready, and landed a perfectly placed right hand to knock Folayang out. That surprise forced the referee to dive in and stop the bout at 2 minutes 20 of the second round.

Vs. Marat Gafurov — ONE Championship 59: Quest for Greatness (Aug. 18, 2017)

When Martin Nguyen and Marat Gafurov met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017, Nguyen did what no other martial artist had done before. “The Situ-Asian” defeated a mixed martial artist who had never lost in his 15-fight career. This bout was a rematch between the pair. In the first bout, Gafurov submitted Nguyen and claimed the interim belt.

In the second round of their rematch, when Gafurov attempted a lazy leg kick, the heavy-handed challenger responded with a perfectly-timed right hand that changed the complexion of ONE Championship ever since.

Nguyen finished Gafurov with a series of devastating strikes before referee Yuji Shimada stepped in and saved the Russian from further damage.

Nguyen didn’t just become the first to merely defeat Gafurov, he also did it in tremendous and convincing style. With this win, he claimed the ONE Featherweight title.

Vs. Narantungalag Jadambaa — ONE Championship 93: Roots of Honor (April 12, 2019)

Nguyen’s last fight was in the Bantamweight category and he looked significantly smaller than Jadambaa. However, the Featherweight champion’s superior speed was immediately evident as he landed a series of low kicks in the first round.

Nguyen had been scoring regularly with low kicks and, after digging his right shin into Jadambaa’s thigh early in round two, the Mongolian flinched and took all his weight off the injured leg. The champion instantly capitalized on this with a flying knee to the face of his now off-balanced opponent. Martin successfully defended his Featherweight title for a second time.

Vs. Kazunori Yokota — ONE Championship 50: Quest for Power (Jan. 14, 2017)

After some intense analysing of each other and a judicious punch exchange Nguyen scored an electrifying, clean, right-handed one-punch KO win over Kazunori Yokota in the first round.

Literally 3 seconds of ground and pound later, the referee jumped in and off the bell went.

That victory secured him a rematch with the Russian Gafurov, (who had since lost the interim tag from his title reign).

So there we have it folks, 5 of Martin Nguyen’s best MMA finishes! From the list above, what’s your favourite strike moment from “The Situ-Asian”? Which fighter would you like to see get KFK’d next? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram.

Whatever the Situ-Asian, keep striking up your A-game; check out our Top 5 MMA series featuring Amanda Nunes, Edson Barboza, Max Holloway, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson and many, many more!

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