Martin Nguyen wants trilogy bout with Marat Gafurov

Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen set his sights on his next foe after a successful third World Title defence at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES in Manila on Friday, 2 August.

The Vietnamese Australian athlete said he wanted a trilogy bout following another highlight-reel knockout against a resilient Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima in the Mall Of Asia Arena.

That means he is left with Christian Lee and Marat Gafurov, both of whom he has competed against twice already.

“I was talking about Gafurov. I want to close the chapter there. It’s just one of those fights,” Nguyen said.

“With Christian Lee, I fought him twice, and I won twice. I didn’t lose, and I finished one of those. It’s not really a trilogy match – more of a revenge match [for him]. With Gafurov, we’re 1-1, and he dominated Yamada [in his last bout],” Nguyen added.

“Everyone wants to see these fights, but I’ll fight anyone. If Christian wants to come down and try to be a champ or Gafurov wants to try and get his belt back, I’ll be ready.”

A potential match between the pair would be packed with action. Nguyen’s third successive title defense in the Philippines made him the most dominant World Champion in the featherweight division.

Meanwhile, former ONE Featherweight World Champion Gafurov defended his crown on two occasions.

Although there has been no confirmation, “The Situ-Asian” was hoping he could close this installment by the end of 2019.

“I want to be back by November or December. I’m looking at either Singapore or Korea,” he shared.

His win against Matsushima on Friday, 2 August marked his ninth knockout from 13 wins. Before the tie, many billed this match as one of his most difficult match-ups to date.

But the 30-year-old from Sydney revealed that the win was solely down to his great training camp at Hard Knocks 365 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“I’m falling back in love with the sport again and working with world-class coaches for the first time ever in my life. I’ve become a student again. I won two World Titles at a small gym, and it took my three bad performances – it should have only taken one to realize that there was better out there.”

ONE Championship travels to Bangkok next for ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD on Friday, 16 August.