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Martin Nguyen

Martin Nguyen (born 5 March 1989) is an Australian former mixed martial artist, who competed in the featherweight division. A professional from 2012 till 2025. Nguyen is most notable for his stint in ONE Championship, where he was the former ONE Featherweight and ONE Lightweight World Champion, and was the first two-division champion in ONE's history, having held both belts simultaneously.

Early life and education

Nguyen was born on 5 March 1989, in Sydney, to Vietnamese parents. Attending Ashcroft Primary School and Liverpool Boys High School, Martin played representative rugby league but after suffering constant injuries, decided he was better off away from the game. Nguyen then picked up martial arts at the age of 21, initially just to help lose weight and to find a new hobby, but soon realised he had a natural talent for it.

Mixed martial arts career

ONE Championship

In the promotional debut, Nguyen faced Rocky Batolbatol on 7 November 2014, at . He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Nguyen was scheduled to face Bashir Ahmad on 27 September 2015, at . However, Nguyen was instead to face Marat Gafurov for the interim ONE Featherweight World Championship. He lost the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Nguyen faced Edward Kelly on 13 November 2015, at . He won the fight via a doctor stoppage technical knockout in the first round.

Nguyen faced Li Kai Wen on 15 April 2016, at . He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

Nguyen faced Christian Lee on 13 August 2016, at . He won the fight via a guillotine choke technical submission in the first round.

Nguyen faced Kazunori Yokota on 14 January 2017, at . He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Two-division champion

Nguyen faced Marat Gafurov for the ONE Featherweight World Championship on 18 August 2017, at . He won the bout and title via knockout in the second round.

Nguyen faced Eduard Folayang for the ONE Lightweight World Championship on 10 November 2017, at . He won the bout via knockout in the second round, making him the first simultaneous two-division champion in ONE history.

Nguyen faced Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship on 24 March 2018, at . He lost the bout via split decision.

In his first title defense, Nguyen faced Christian Lee on 18 May 2018, at . He won the bout via split decision.

Nguyen faced Kevin Belingon for the interim ONE Bantamweight World Championship on 27 July 2018, at . He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

On 28 September 2018, it was announced that Nguyen vacated the ONE Lightweight World Championship due to suffering an injury in training, rendering him unable to defend the title.

In the second title defense, Nguyen faced Jadamba Narantungalag on 12 April 2019, at . He won the bout via a flying knee knockout in the second round.

In the third title defense, Nguyen faced Koyomi Matsushima on 2 August 2019, at . He won the bout via technical knockout in the second round.

Nguyen defense the title against Thanh Le on 30 October 2020, at . He lost the bout and title via technical knockout in the third round.

Post-championship reign

Nguyen was scheduled to face Kim Jae-woong on 7 April 2021 and aired on 14 April 2021, at ONE on TNT 2. However, Nguyen was forced to withdraw due to not being cleared to compete with respect to health and safety protocols. The pair was rescheduled for on 24 September 2021. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Nguyen faced Kirill Gorobets on 11 March 2022, at . He won the fight via technical knockout in the third round.

Nguyen faced Ilya Freymanov on 1 October 2022, at ONE on Prime Video 2. He lost the fight via TKO (submission to knees) in the first round.

Nguyen was scheduled to face Shamil Gasanov on 25 February 2023, at ONE Fight Night 7. However, Gasanov was forced to withdraw due to an infection that stemmed from an injury. He was replaced by Razhab Shaydullaev. In turn, Shaydullaev was forced to withdraw due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Leonardo Casotti. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Nguyen faced Garry Tonon on 28 January 2024, at ONE 165. He lost the fight by rear-naked submission in the first round.

The match between Nguyen and Gasanov will be reschedule on 20 February 2025, at ONE 171. Nguyen lost the bout via unanimous decision and announced his retirement from competition after the bout.

Personal life

Martin is married to Brooke Nguyen, and the couple have three children together, Kai, Tiarna, and Madison. In post-retirement, Nguyen enjoys playing Oztag recreationally.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Loss |align=center|15–8 |Shamil Gasanov |Decision (unanimous) |ONE 171 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Lusail, Qatar | |- |Loss |align=center|15–7 |Garry Tonon |Submission (rear-naked choke) |ONE 165 | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:41 |Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center| 15–6 |Leonardo Casotti |Decision (unanimous) |ONE Fight Night 7 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 |Bangkok, Thailand | |- |Loss |align=center| 14–6 |Ilya Freymanov |TKO (submission to knees) |ONE on Prime Video 2 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:33 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Win |align=center| 14–5 |Kirill Gorobets |TKO (punches) | | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 2:18 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Loss |align=center| 13–5 |Kim Jae-woong |KO (punches) | | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:15 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Loss |align=center| 13–4 |Thanh Le |TKO (punches) | | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 2:19 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Win |align=center| 13–3 |Koyomi Matsushima |TKO (punches) | | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 4:40 |Pasay, Philippines | |- |Win |align=center| 12–3 |Jadamba Narantungalag |KO (flying knee) | | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 1:07 |Pasay, Philippines | |- |Loss |align=center| 11–3 |Kevin Belingon |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 5:00 |Pasay, Philippines | |- |Win |align=center| 11–2 |Christian Lee |Decision (split) | | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 5:00 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Loss |align=center| 10–2 |Bibiano Fernandes |Decision (split) | | |align=center| 5 |align=center| 5:00 |Bangkok, Thailand | |- |Win |align=center| 10–1 |Eduard Folayang |KO (punch) | | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 2:20 |Pasay, Philippines | |- |Win |align=center| 9–1 |Marat Gafurov |KO (punch) | | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 1:27 |Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |- |Win |align=center| 8–1 |Kazunori Yokota |KO (punches) | | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:36 |Jakarta, Indonesia | |- |Win |align=center| 7–1 |Christian Lee |Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:30 |Macau, SAR, China | |- |Win |align=center| 6–1 |Li Kai Wen |TKO (punches) | | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:44 |Pasay, Philippines | |- |Win |align=center| 5–1 |Edward Kelly |TKO (doctor stoppage) | | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:17 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Loss |align=center| 4–1 |Marat Gafurov |Submission (rear-naked choke) | | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:41 |Jakarta, Indonesia | |- |Win |align=center| 4–0 |Rocky Batolbatol |Submission (rear-naked choke) | | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 2:10 |Kallang, Singapore | |- |Win |align=center| 3–0 |Luke Standing |TKO (punches) |BRACE 24 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:30 |Canberra, Australia | |- |Win |align=center| 2–0 |Thomas Ruderman |TKO (punches) |BRACE 18 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| N/A |Canberra, Australia | |- |Win |align=center| 1–0 |Richard Kemp-Hay |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Cage Conquest 1 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 1:39 |Nowra, Australia |

See also

References

External links