Martin Nguyen, Eduard Folayang

Fighting out of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Vietnamese-Australian mixed martial artist Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, 29, has conquered two fighters from Team Lakay. On July 27, 2018, he will face his third opponent from one of the top MMA gyms in Asia.

Nguyen himself is a fan of Team Lakay, which is based in Baguio City, Philippines and was founded by its head coach Mark Sangiao. The Vietnamese-Australian MMA fighter said, “I’ve got the utmost respect for Team Lakay.”

“Mark Sangiao is out there doing a really good job at keeping the fighters humble and hungry,” Nguyen added. “To be honest, I like to watch Team Lakay fight. They’re powerful strikers with devastating kicks as well as takedown defense.”

The first two Team Lakay fighters to face Nguyen were Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly, 34, and Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, 34. On November 13, 2015, Nguyen knocked out Kelly at “ONE: Pride of Lions” at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

On November 10, 2017, Nguyen dethroned Folayang, who was then the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion. Folayang was knocked out by Nguyen at “ONE: Legends of the World” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Nguyen is currently reigning as the champion of both the featherweight and lightweight division of ONE Championship. On July 27, 2018, he will return to the SM Mall of Asia Arena to make an attempt to earn his third belt by competing against Team Lakay fighter Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon, 30, for the ONE Interim Bantamweight Championship.

“In general, they all fight the same way,” Nguyen said of Team Lakay fighters. “This is my third fight with a guy from Team Lakay, so the way I prepared for that first one is how I’ll be preparing for every other fight.”

For Nguyen, Belingon is “a complete mixed martial artist.” The Vietnamese-Australian champion said the Team Lakay fighter is known for his striking but he has “proved to the world he can also wrestle.”

Despite the threat that Belingon poses, Nguyen is confident that he will make history as the first three-division world champion in MMA. Here is a short interview with the two-division world champion before beating Folayang:

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