Former two-division ONE world champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen (14-5) has heard rumors that Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez (30-8) would consider moving down in weight, and the 33-year-old would love to welcome the American legend to ONE’s deep featherweight MMA division.
“The Situ-Asian” believes a bout against Alvarez would provide each of them with a massive opportunity. More importantly, he loves the idea of squaring off against such a huge name in the sport.
“Man, I think it would be spectacular, with his experience, his caliber,” the No. 3-ranked featherweight contender said. “I’d be more than honored to welcome him to the featherweight division. I’m sure if he gets past me, then he’ll obviously be a top-five, top-three contender for that title shot.”
Alvarez joined ONE in 2019 with the goal of winning a lightweight world title in a third major promotion. However, he suffered a shocking knockout loss to rising contender Timofey Nastyukhin in his debut fight.
“The Underground King” then defeated former lightweight king Eduard Folayang by submission, but he fell out of the World Title picture with a controversial no contest against Iuri Lapicus and a heartbreaking unanimous decision loss to current titleholder Ok Rae Yoon.
Despite those setbacks, Nguyen believes the 38-year-old American still has a lot to offer in MMA.
“Eddie Alvarez is (one of) the most experienced athletes in ONE Championship at the moment,” Nguyen said. “In terms of MMA, I still feel like he’s got a few more fights underneath his belt, at least a minimum of three or four fights.”
“He doesn’t really have anything to prove. He’s achieved it all. So you don’t count the old guy out until he’s completely out. I feel that I’m that person he should be fighting. I’m always ready to put my name and sign that contract. We’ll see what happens.”
Nguyen would love high-profile match on Prime Video
ONE Championship recently announced a multi-year agreement with global streaming giant Amazon Prime Video Sports, which will see at least 12 of its live events broadcast in North American prime time annually.
It’s a huge opportunity to compete in front of more fans in the United States. And with that in mind, Nguyen believes Prime Video would be the perfect platform for a dream matchup against American MMA icon Alvarez.
“I think it’s almost like the stars aligned,” the Vietnamese-Australian said. “If Eddie Alvarez comes down to featherweight, why not? You know, that’s perfect. He’s got all the backing behind him, the American fans. Let’s just make it happen, and I’m sure a lot of people will be tuning in.”
“I’m definitely excited about that idea. It would give me a chance to just make a statement.”
This story first published at ONEFC.com.
