Former ONE Championship two-division title holder Martin Nguyen has his next assignment set: grappling star Garry Tonon.
Nguyen (15-6) and Tonon (8-1) will face off at ONE 165 on January 28, 2024. News of the booking was announced by ONE officials on Tuesday.
The event, headlined by a striking dream match between Japanese kickboxing star Takeru and Muay Thai star Rodtang, takes place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Australia’s Nguyen is 2-1 across his last three fights, and is coming off a win over Leonardo Casotti at ONE Fight Night 7 this past February. It will be almost a year between fights as a result.
In 2017, Martin Nguyen won both the ONE lightweight and featherweight titles, and would pursue a third title, unsuccessfully, in the promotion’s bantamweight division. Nguyen defeded his featherweight title three times before losing it to Thanh Le in 2020, but was never able to defend his lightweight crown, and vacated that title due to injury.
Tonnon, a multi-time BJJ world champion, made the transition to MMA in 2018, and has spent his entire fighting career with ONE Championship. He came up short against Thanh Le in a bid for featherweight gold in 2022, but won his next two fights, both via submission, against Johnny Nunez and Shamil Gasanov.
