Martin Nguyen (born 5 March 1989) is an Australian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, currently competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

, he is a former ONE Featherweight and Lightweight World Champion. As of 6 October 2022, he is ranked No. 4 in the ONE Featherweight rankings.

Background

Nguyen was born on 5 March 1989, to Vietnamese parents but moved to Australia at a young age. At school, it's claimed he had a passion for playing rugby, 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 ONE FC: Battle of Lions. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Nguyen faced

Marat Gafurov Marat Gafurov (Russian: Марат Гафуров; born November 21, 1984) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist, who competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA).. A professional MMA comp ...

, replacing

Jadamba Narantungalag Jadamba Narantungalag (born December 16, 1975) is a Mongolian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and grappler who has fought for World Victory Road, K-1 MAX, Legend FC, Art of War Fighting Championship, and ONE Championship. Nar ...

for the interim

ONE Featherweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions Men's championship history Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight limit: '' Light Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight lim ...

, on 27 September 2015, at ONE: Odyssey of Champions. He lost the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Nguyen faced Edward Kelly on 13 November 2015, at ONE: Pride of Lions. He won the fight via a doctor stoppage technical knockout in the first round. Nguyen faced Li Kai Wen on 15 April 2016, at ONE: Global Rivals. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. Nguyen faced Christian Lee on 13 August 2016, at ONE: Heroes of the World. He won the fight via a guillotine choke technical submission in the first round. Nguyen faced

Kazunori Yokota is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka. Yokota became famous fighting in the Japanese MMA promotion DEEP, and eventually debuted WVR Sengoku, his only fight in a cage was his MMA debut, which was on 19 September 2004 against Keita Nakamu ...

on 14 January 2017, at ONE: Quest for Power. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

ONE Featherweight World Champion

Nguyen faced

for the

on 18 August 2017, at ONE: Quest for Greatness. He won the bout and title via knockout in the second round. Nguyen faced

Eduard Folayang Eduard Folayang (born November 22, 1983) is a Filipino mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner who fights in ONE Championship, where he is a two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion. He also competed for Universal Reality Comba ...

for the ONE Lightweight World Championship on 10 November 2017, at ONE: Legends of the World. He won the bout via knockout in the second round and make his first double champion history. Nguyen faced Bibiano Fernandes for the

ONE Bantamweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions Men's championship history Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight limit: '' Light Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight lim ...

on 24 March 2018, at ONE: Iron Will. He lost the bout via split decision. In his first title defense, Nguyen faced Christian Lee on 18 May 2018, at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams. He won the bout via split decision. Nguyen faced

Kevin Belingon Kevin Indunan Belingon (born October 30, 1987) is a Filipino mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship. He is a former ONE Bantamweight World Champion and Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) Flyweight Champion. Belingon ...

for the interim

on 27 July 2018, at ONE: Reign of Kings. 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

on 12 April 2019, at ONE: Roots of Honor. He won the bout via a flying knee knockout in the second round. In the third title defense, Nguyen faced

Koyomi Matsushima Koyomi Matsushima () (born October 08, 1992) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division and has previously fought in ONE Championship and Pancrase. Matsushima has faced strong opposition with the likes of Dave L ...

on 2 August 2019, at ONE: Dawn of Heroes. He won the bout via technical knockout in the second round. Nguyen defense the title against

Thanh Le Thanh James Le (born August 28, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competes in the Featherweight division for the ONE Championship, he is a former ONE Featherweight World Champion. He has competed in Legacy Fighting Alliance. H ...

on 30 October 2020, at ONE: Inside the Martix. 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 withdrew due to has not been cleared to compete health and safety protocols. The pair was rescheduled for ONE: Revolution on 24 September 2021. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Nguyen faced Kirill Gorobets on 11 March 2022, at ONE: Lights Out. 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 ''ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee 3 '' (also known as ''ONE Fight Night 2'' outside North America) was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on October 1, 2022 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. ...

. 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 ''ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade 2'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on February 25, 2023, at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Background The event was originally scheduled on February 1 ...

. However, Gasanov was forced to withdrew 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.

Personal life

Martin is married to Brooke Nguyen, and the couple have three children together, Kai, Tiarna, and Madison.

Championships and accomplishments

(One time) ***Three successful title defenses ** ONE Lightweight World Championship (One time) **First multi-divisional champion in ONE history *

BRACE Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

**Brace Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Leonardo Casotti , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 , Ilya Freymanov , TKO (submission to knees) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Kirill Gorobets , TKO (punches) , ONE: Lights Out , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Kim Jae Woong , KO (punches) , ONE: Revolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Inside the Martix , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:19 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Dawn of Heroes , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:40 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, KO (flying knee) , ONE: Roots of Honor , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:07 ,

, Philippines , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Reign of Kings , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Christian Lee , Decision (split) , ONE: Unstoppable Dreams , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Bibiano Fernandes , Decision (split) , ONE: Iron Will , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, KO (punch) , ONE: Legends of the World , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, KO (punch) , ONE: Quest for Greatness , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Malaysia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, KO (punches) , ONE: Quest for Power , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Christian Lee , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , ONE: Heroes of the World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

SAR SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Li Kai Wen , TKO (punches) , ONE: Global Rivals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:44 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Edward Kelly , TKO (doctor stoppage) , ONE: Pride of Lions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:17 ,

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Odyssey of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:41 ,

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Rocky Batolbatol , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE FC: Battle of Lions , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Luke Standing , TKO (punches) , BRACE 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 ,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Thomas Ruderman , TKO (punches) , BRACE 18 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Richard Kemp-Hay , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Conquest 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Nowra, New South Wales Nowra is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated popula ...

, Australia ,

References

External links

Martin Nguyen
at ONE {{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Martin 1989 births Living people Australian male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists People from Sydney Sportspeople from Sydney ONE Championship champions Australian people of Vietnamese descent