Fresh from adding the One Championship lightweight belt to his already claimed featherweight belt, Sydney based Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen has now set his sights on the bantamweight title holder Bibiano Fernandes.
One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed that is the plan at a press-conference on Wednesday for a separate upcoming event. Video was recorded and posted by MMAnytt.com
“We will definitely make that fight happen. Bibiano has accepted. Martin has accepted, so it will definitely happen. It’s just a question of when.”
Sityodtong went on to confirm that both fighters want the fight to take place in March and have agreed for it to be for Bibiano’s bantamweight title.
“I think it will be a big fight. I don’t know if it will be the biggest but obviously Bibiano is a legend (and) generally one of the best bantamweights in the world. There is no question about it.
“Martin Nguyen has shocked the world, I mean twice. Can he do it a third time and be a unprecedented three division world champion simultaneously?
“I don’t know but I have to tell you he is a great kid. I love him. His got massive one punch knockout power but more importantly, his a good good guy that if you had kids, they could generally look up to him as a hero.”
Nguyen posted on social media about his excitement that the cat was let out of the bag and expressed that he was ready to make history again.
The 28-year-old became the first fighter in One Championship history to hold two title belts consecutively earlier this month when he knocked out Eduard Folayang. Prior to that, Nguyen had avenged the only loss on his 10-1 record, stopping Marat Gafurov with strikes to claim the promotion’s featherweight title.
A third title belt in a major promotion will indeed be unprecedented but it will be no easy task as Fernandes comes into the contest having not lost in his last 13 outings.
