Martin Nguyen didn’t want to “risk too much” against Leonardo Casotti

Former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen really wanted to get the win in his last fight and did it by being as deliberate as he could be.

‘The Situ-Asian’ topped Brazilian Leonardo Casotti by unanimous decision in their featherweight showdown at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24 in Bangkok. The victory sent the former featherweight and lightweight world champion back to the win column.

Martin Nguyen took a more patient approach against Casotti, picking his spots and capitalizing on every opportunity he got for his vaunted counters to much success. Casotti had his moments in the fight, but the Vietnamese-Australian fighter made sure it did not get out of hand and that he was ahead of things all the way to the end.

In an interview with SCMP MMA post-fight, Martin Nguyen shared what went down in the fight:

“He was kicking me back as well, so I didn’t wanna risk too much. I knew I was ahead on the rounds and I didn’t wanna fall in a stupid position and get kneed and [change] the tides of the fight. So I kind of waited for that perfect moment and I tried to finish it. But tough guy, man, tough guy.”

Watch the interview below:

For his latest fight, Martin Nguyen made it a point to get the training that he needed, choosing to hold his training camp at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, U.S.A., away from family back in Australia.

While he took the loss, Casotti still made a good account of himself, gamely competing despite taking the fight on short notice. He was the third opponent for ‘The Situ-Asian’ after original foe Shamil Gasanov of Russia and initial replacement Razhab Shaydullaev of Krygyzstan pulled out.

Martin Nguyen says featherweight is ripe for the taking and anyone can get it

Former ONE featherweight world champion Martin Nguyen wants to get back to the top of the division and sees the field wide open.

Speaking on media day for his most recent fight at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video in Bangkok last week, ‘The Situ-Asian’ shared his take on the landscape in his weight class, which currently has China’s Tang Kai as champion.

Martin Nguyen said:

“Yeah, it’s full of champions. That doesn’t look good because who’s his next contender? It was meant to be me if I had won my last bout. Obviously, I haven’t now. I think Ilya Freymanov is calling out Thanh Le. Thanh wants a rematch. Garry wants a title shot against Tang Kai. Garry just won his last bout against a non-contender. So this division’s all over the place when it comes to title challenges for the belt.”

Martin Nguyen is currently the No. 4-ranked fighter in the division, behind ONE featherweight world champion Tang Kai, Vietnamese-American Thanh Le (No. 1), Garry Tonon of the United States (No. 2), and Russia’s Ilya Freymanov (No. 3). Shamil Gasanov of Russia completes the top five.

‘The Situ-Asian’ is one of the longest tenured fighters in ONE, having been part of the promotion since 2014. He once simultaneously held the featherweight and lightweight world titles.