Shamil Gasanov vs. Martin Nguyen booked for ONE 171 

A heated featherweight MMA showdown has been confirmed for ONE 171: Qatar.   

Third-ranked contender Shamil Gasanov gets the clash he’s demanded versus the first-ever two-weight ONE World Champion Martin Nguyen. The pair will collide on Thursday, February 20, 2025, inside Doha’s Lusail Sports Arena.  

In two years, Gasanov has become one of the most dominant featherweight MMA stars in the world. “The Cobra” has gone 4-1 in his ONE Championship tenure. He holds wins over strong adversaries in Oh Ho Taek, Aaron Canarte, and Halil Amir.  

Gasanov has been on the hunt for a shot at the ONE Featherweight MMA World Championship. And he clearly believes that in order to do so, he must take out a former king in Qatar. 

Nguyen has battled the best on offer in ONE, all the way to becoming a dual-reigning king in the promotion. But in the last few years, the Vietnamese-Australian star has had mixed results.  

“The Situ-Asian” is desperate to prove he’s still among the division’s elite. And the only way to do so is to stop the next generation in Gasanov and cement his positioning in the featherweight rankings.    

Martin Nguyen received BJJ black belt prior to fight with Shamil Gasanov at ONE 171

The accolades haven’t stopped coming in for featherweight MMA star Martin Nguyen.  

The former two-weight ONE MMA World Champion was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu last week. It was a journey that began as an experiment to lose weight many moons ago.  

Since then, it has evolved into an illustrious career. And on top of that, he’ll be looking to show his black-belt-level grappling versus Shamil Gasanov at ONE 171: Qatar. 

“What a milestone this journey has been. To think I just started jiu-jitsu just to lose my dad bod to now receiving my black belt,” Nguyen said on Instagram. 

“Here’s to many more memories and milestones with the Cabra Kai family!”