ONE Championship
KEY POINTS
- Razhab Shaydullaev pulls out of the bout against Martin Nguyen
- Nguyen welcomes a new opponent in Leonardo Casotti
- Nguyen vs. Casotti will be one of the undercards at ONE Fight Night 7
These past seven days have been quite an emotional roller coaster ride for Martin Nguyen as he was left uncertain if he would be able to compete on the undercard of ONE Fight Night 7 in Bangkok, Thailand this Saturday, February 25 (Friday, February 24 in the United States).
“The Situ-Asian” was originally slated to go one-on-one with Shamil Gasanov in a pivotal duel between two ranked featherweights. However, the latter had to regretfully withdraw from the bout due to illness nearly a week before their scheduled encounter.
Three days later, the promotion found a suitable replacement in undefeated Kyrgyz prospect Razhab Shaydullaev.
But the unexpected turn of events didn’t stop there as Shaydullaev was also forced to beg off on the assignment of facing Nguyen this weekend due to an undisclosed reason.
As all hope was seemingly lost, officials pulled out a last-ditch effort to save Nguyen’s spot on the fight card by bringing in Leonardo Casotti.
Casotti was initially booked to make his promotional debut against Anzor Chakaev at ONE Friday Fight 6, which happens the night before ONE Fight Night 7.
The Brazilian holds a professional record of 9-2 with four submission victories and three via knockout.
In addition, Casotti is riding high on a remarkable nine-match winning streak that all began in 2015.
On the other hand, Nguyen needs no introduction to the world of mixed martial arts as he is the first competitor in ONE Championship history to simultaneously hold two world titles in different weight classes.
However, the past three years have been nothing short of turbulent for Nguyen, who has dropped three of his last four outings under the organization’s umbrella.
In his most recent outing this past September, “The Situ-Asian” suffered a heartbreaking first-round knockout loss to Ilya Freymanov.
On Saturday, Nguyen sets his sights on redeeming himself in the most convincing fashion possible opposite the Brazilian debutant.
Martin Nguyen shares his thoughts on a second late change of opponent for his bout at #ONEFightNight7 in Bangkok, Thailand this Saturday.
He will now face Leonardo Casotti, a Brazilian featherweight with a professional record of 9-2. pic.twitter.com/mVhpM5zvC2
— NISSI ICASIANO (@Nissi_Icasiano) February 23, 2023
ONE Fight Night 7 is set to take place at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in the bustling Thai city of Bangkok, and it will be headlined by a ONE bantamweight championship rematch between former division kingpin John Lineker and No. 1 contender Fabricio Andrade.
Meanwhile, Tawanchai PK.Saenchai will out his ONE featherweight Muay Thai belt on the line versus Jamal Yusupov in the co-main event.
ONE Championship
