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EXCLUSIVE: Christian Lee Says ‘The Fight I want Is With Martin Nguyen’

ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee has not given up on his dream of capturing featherweight gold, despite his success at lightweight. Lee had a banner year in 2019. In May, the 21-year-old stopped Japanese veteran Shynia Aoki to claim the lightweight strap, before adding another belt to his collection five months later after defeating Dagestan’s […]

ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee has not given up on his dream of capturing featherweight gold, despite his success at lightweight.

Lee had a banner year in 2019. In May, the 21-year-old stopped Japanese veteran Shynia Aoki to claim the lightweight strap, before adding another belt to his collection five months later after defeating Dagestan’s Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev to become the promotions inaugural lightweight Grand Prix Champion. However, Lee still feels he has unfinished business at featherweight. A division currently ruled over by the one man to have gotten the best of Lee, Martin Nguyen.

“For me, featherweight is where I started my career, and I don’t feel like it is right to leave that division before claiming that belt, ” Lee said, speaking to LowKickMMA.

” I definitely plan on winning that featherweight belt before I move on, but the fight I want is with Martin Nguyen. He has dominated that division; he has taken out everyone in his path so far. He has done a great job of it, so that is the fight I want. I see him staying champ for quite a while longer, so I think that we will see a fight between the two us within the near future.”

The pair have fought twice before with Nguyen, emerging the winner on both occasions. The last time they met was in 2018 in Singapore at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams, with Nguyen, getting his hand raised via a split decision victory. The fight was more a slow burn than the attacking extravaganza fans had anticipated. Still, Lee sees a third meeting between the pair being the polar opposite of their last outing.

“I see the fight playing out completely different than that second time we met in the cage,” Lee explained.

“The reason that fight was so close is because I went in there with no sparring. The whole eight weeks of that camp, I wasn’t able to spar a single time because, in a previous fight against Kazunori Yokota, I broke my thumb. They [ONE] offered me the fight while I was in a cast. They said, ‘you got a featherweight title shot do you want to take it?’ so as a young kid, I was excited I took the shot.

“So when I went in the cage, I was in the best shape of my life, but I didn’t have my timing my range I didn’t have all of these things that are essential in preparing for a world title match. That’s why my game was so different, that’s why it ended up such an underwhelming performance, and so I am very disappointed with the outcome of that match.

“I know that both of us as fighters were going in there to finish each other. I think it is only right to make things right, and we take another match and finish it right this time.”

Lee and Nguyen both have title defenses scheduled for their next bouts, so depending on when ONE returns a third meeting between the pair would be unlikely to happen until 2021. The Singapore-based promotion is still unable to hold events, leaving its fighters playing a waiting game regarding when they will be able to compete. Lee may be unsure as to when ONE will be back, but he predicts some major fight announcements once the show starts again.

“The way ONE Championship works they like to do it big, and so I am sure that whenever we start up again it’s going to be a string of huge world title fights, super fights and it’s going to be exciting. “

Who would you pick between if Lee and Nguyen fought for a third time?

Thanh Le Calls Out Martin Nguyen For Vietnam Clash

Thanh Le’s quest for his featherweight title bout with Martin Nguyen to occur in Vietnam received a boost yesterday after ONE posted a call-out video from Le on its Twitter account. “Martin Nguyen, let’s do it. Mixed Martial Arts just got legalized in Vietnam.Me and you in Vietnam, changing of the guard. I’ve got a […]

Thanh Le’s quest for his featherweight title bout with Martin Nguyen to occur in Vietnam received a boost yesterday after ONE posted a call-out video from Le on its Twitter account.

“Martin Nguyen, let’s do it. Mixed Martial Arts just got legalized in Vietnam.Me and you in Vietnam, changing of the guard. I’ve got a death touch in my left and right hand. I only got to touch him once If he can go five-rounds without getting touched once he deserves to keep the belt, but I’m going to take it from him,” Le said in his message to the ONE featherweight champion.

Le and Nguyen share Vietnamese heritage — Le is Vietnamese-American, while Nguyen is Vietnamese- Australian — and both men have spoken about their desire for their as yet unscheduled bout to take place in the Southeast Asian nation.

ONE made its Vietnamese debut last September with ONE: Immortal Triumph going down inside Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. The 12-bout card contained only stand-up fans due to the illegality of MMA in Vietnam at the time.

However, the doors are now open for a potential Nguyen- Le clash in Vietnam following the sport’s legalization in February. To make the pot sweeter sporting events in Vietnam can be held with fans in attendance.
The country has been successful in its attempts to control Covid-19, and this past weekend saw the resumption of the Vietnamese national football league.

The fact that ONE posted the call-out may indicate that the matchmakers are hoping to stage the bout in Vietnam. ONE is still waiting to get the all-clear to begin staging events and will likely start with behind-closed-door shows in Singapore.

The major obstacle to ONE staging in an event in Vietnam will be the country’s border restrictions, and it will be a case of wait and see as to whether ONE would be able to get its fighters into the country at a later date.

It may be a tricky position to pull off, but if ONE could manage to hold an event with Le and Nguyen headlining in Vietnam, it would certainly create headlines and generate plenty of interest.

Would you be keen for this bout to take place in Vietnam?

ONE: Dawn Of Heroes Preview & Start Time

ONE Championship heads to the Philippines this week with ONE: Dawn Of Heroes set to take place on Friday, August 2. The event will go down inside Manila’s Mall Of Asia Arena. From start to finish, the 15-bout card is loaded with big names, exciting fights, and pivotal match-ups. The main card starts at 8:30 […]

The post ONE: Dawn Of Heroes Preview & Start Time appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The main card starts at 8:30 am EST/5:30 am PST. The prelims will start at 5:00 am EST/2:00 am PST.

The main event features one of the promotion’s superstars, Vietnamese-Australian Martin Nguyen. The ONE Featherweight World Champion will make the third defense of his title when he takes on Japan’s Koyomi Matsushima.

However, for a lot of fans, it’s the co-main event that is generating the most excitement. ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Jonathan Haggerty will defend his belt for the first time against the seemingly unstoppable Thai, Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Since arriving at ONE, Rodtang has demolished his opponents, but in Haggerty, the 22-year-old will face a fighter unafraid to stand and trade with him. The bout has the hallmarks of a classic contest.

Eddie Alveraz and Demetrious Johnson will also be competing, while former UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhullar makes his promotional debut against Italy’s Mauro Cerilli.

A Pair Of Title Clashes

Since he started training at Florida’s Hard Knocks 365, ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen has taken his game to another level. The 30-year-old’s dismantling of Mongolia’s Narantungalag Jadambaa at ONE: Roots Of Honor, was electrifying to witness.

Nguyen’s striking looked faster and sharper, no doubt the result of working under the tutelage of Henri Hooft. Still, this week’s fight promises to be a tougher outing for the Vietnamese-Australian.

Koyomi Matsushima is a talented fighter and a worthy challenger for Nguyen’s featherweight belt. The 26-year-old is a talented and versatile striker as well as being a capable grappler. Nguyen will start as favorite, but the key here will be if Matsushima can establish his attacking rhythm. If he does the contest could really open up. If Nguyen, takes control early on and performs to the level he is capable of then it would be hard picturing him losing.

The co-main event promises to be a straight war with both men confident of finishing each other. Britain’s Jonathan Haggerty captured the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship by comprehensively defeating Muay Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao. The 22-year-old Haggerty is tall, powerful, aggressive and determined to put on a show in the Philippines capital.

Rodtang has walked recent opponents down with an almost blatant disregard for their offensive capabilities, but Haggerty believes the Thai’s style suits him perfectly. This clash could go the full five or be over in the first. Regardless of how it unfolds this bout will likely steal the show.

Alveraz And Johnson Are Back In Action

They may not be headlining, but there will still be plenty of interest in Eddie Alveraz and Demetrious Johnson’s respective bouts this Friday.

After getting stopped on debut, Alveraz will be looking at redemption when he takes on former ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang. The pair’s clash now forms the second of the ONE Lightweight Grand Prix semifinals. Friday’s winner will go on to face Dagestan’s Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev in the final. The original semi-finalists, USA’s Lowen Tynanes and Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin, both fell injured, removing them from the competition.

Folayang is a tough bounce-back fight for Alveraz. The 35-year-old has some of the best striking in the division. While Folayang is not the KO artist that Nastyukhin is, what he is good at is slowly dissecting his opponents throughout a fight. Alveraz will want to look at mixing it up early on before Folayang establishes his attacking tempo.

Johnson’s bout should be a lot more straightforward. The 32-year-old should not have too many problems with Japan’s Tatsumitsu Wada. While Wada will throw everything he has into this bout, it would be a massive upset if Johnson were to lose.

The winner of this bout will move on to the Flyweight Grand Prix final and will meet the winner of the Danny Kingad and Reece Mclaren clash. The Kingad-Mclaren fight takes place just before Johnson-Wada.

Best Of The Rest

Fans should take care not to sleep on some of the bouts set to go down on this week’s preliminary card.

Former UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhuller will be looking to make a statement when he takes on former Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion Mauro Cerilli. The ONE heavyweight division is thin on talent at the moment. If Bhuller can comfortably defeat Cerilli, the Indian fighter could find himself next in line for a title shot.

Another fighter looking for a title shot is America’s, James Nakashima. The undefeated welterweight will take on Japanese legend Yushin Okami. Nakashima is riding a two-fight winning streak in ONE. If he can stretch it to three, then a title fight or a title eliminator should be his reward.

The full card can be watched for free via the ONE Super app.

Main Card

Martin Nguyen vs. Koyomi Matsushima (ONE Featherweight World Title)
Jonathan Haggerty vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon (ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title)
Eduard Folayang vs. Eddie Alvarez (ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Demetrious Johnson vs. Tatsumitsu Wada (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Danny Kingad vs. Reece McLaren (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinal)
Rodlek PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym vs. Andrew Miller (ONE Super Series Muay Thai — bantamweight)

Preliminary Card

Geje Eustaquio vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix reserve)
Mauro Cerilli vs. Arjan Bhullar (mixed martial arts — heavyweight)
Honorio Banario vs. Dae Sung Park (mixed martial arts — lightweight)
Leandro Issa vs. Daichi Takenaka (mixed martial arts — bantamweight)
James Nakashima vs. Yushin Okami (mixed martial arts — welterweight)
Edward Kelly vs. Xie Bin (mixed martial arts — featherweight)
Pongsiri Mitsatit vs. Miao Li Tao (mixed martial arts — strawweight)
Samara Santos vs. Ayaka Miura (mixed martial arts — women’s strawweight)
Sunoto vs. Muhammad Aiman (mixed martial arts — bantamweight)

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ONE Books Martin Nguyen vs. Bibiano Fernandes

Martin Nguyen currently holds two ONE belts. He’ll chase after a third next. The promotion announced plans for Nguyen to meet Bibiano Fernandes for the bantamweight title when the calendar flips to 2018. Nguyen is the featherweight and lightweigh…

ONE Championship 59: Marat Gafurov Defends Title vs. Martin Nguyen

ONE featherweight champion Marat Gafurov will put both his title and his unbeaten record on the line this August against Martin Nguyen. Officials announced the bout as the headline act for ONE Championship 59: Quest for Greatness on August 18 from the Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The card will stream live online via […]