Kim Jae Woong on securing title shot from Martin Nguyen knockout

Kim Jae Woong halted former multi-division ONE titleholder Martin Nguyen at ONE: Revolution.

The emphatic stoppage over one of the company’s most accomplished fighters sent ripple effects through the MMA world on September 24th from Singapore Indoor Stadium.

“The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong 🇰🇷 SLEEPS former ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen in the very first round! 💥 #ONERevolution #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/fcdLgwickD

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 24, 2021

I spoke with Woong, through the aid of a translator, at the ONE Championship post-event presser.

The excerpts from our interaction are below.

Kim Jae Woong

The Martin Nguyen fight being scrapped multiple times at the last minute earlier in the year and the closure/ relief of this contest finally happening

“Afer our second try got canceled a few months ago…I was actually very sad. And very depressed, I suffered a bit of depression. Actually, that was a very hard time for me. I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know where I was or what I was doing. And actually, even the day before the fight which was yesterday, I was still scared and worried that the fight might get canceled last minute. But surprisingly when I woke up today, fight day, I was so excited. My heart was burning, and I was just ready to go. It was a very special moment for me. This happened. The result was good so I’m very happy. And I’m fired up.”

ONE: Revolution

Who Woong thinks he’ll be fighting from the Garry Tonon vs Thanh Le title fight set for ONE X in December

“I can’t say anything about the prediction because I believe every fight is 50-50. Everybody has a 50% chance because it’s a fight. I do know that before my fight against Martin tonight, I know that most of the people thought Martin was going to win. But I didn’t believe in that because I myself thought I have 50% chance of beating Martin Nguyen. And it’s the same as Garry Tonon versus Thanh Le. They both have a 50-50 chance because it’s a fight. You know I can’t say. But one thing I can say is whoever wins that fight, I’m ready for both. None of them will give me a problem.”

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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