Martin Nguyen thrilled for Garry Tonon fight at "the home of mixed martial arts" in Japan

Former double champion Martin Nguyen will have a chance to tick two things off his bucket list when he faces Garry Tonon at ONE 165 on January 28.

Firstly, the 34-year-old will meet the top-ranked contender with a chance to move closer to the ONE featherweight world title if he leaves the Ariake Arena with his hand raised.

Next, the Sydney native is pumped to debut in Tokyo, Japan. Being a true gamer and martial artist, there’s nothing that quite tops the opportunity to experience fight night and fight week at 'The Land of the Rising Sun'.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Martin Nguyen said:

“I mean, the fight itself is a barnburner, you know? But, to top it off, the icing on the cake is we get to do it in Japan, as you said, the home of mixed martial arts.”

Moreover, the No.3-ranked featherweight contender knows martial arts is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, and he believes the Japanese audience will do their part to make it more memorable.

Watch the interview here:

He added:

“I feel that the Japanese, they're the most knowledgeable when it comes to a sport like this. So yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

---

Martin Nguyen believes he's one fight away from gold

Martin Nguyen has taken out some of the best fighters on the ONE Championship roster on his way to two-division glory in 2017. Now, he finds himself on a similar trajectory after a couple of shaky performances under the promotional banner.

Although he lost his featherweight crown to Thanh Le and ended up dropping pivotal fights to Kim Jae Woong and Ilya Freymanov, the Australian-Vietnamese knockout machine has earned two wins over Leonardo Casotti and Kirill Gorobets to get himself back on track.

Tonon should be another tough test for the skilled warrior from Down Under. However, ‘The Situ-Asian’ wants to put on a show with a shot at the winner of Thanh Le-Tang Kai potentially there for either man in Tokyo, Japan.

ONE 165 airs live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.