ONE: Martin Nguyen Still Wants Third Title Ahead Of Christian Lee Rematch

Martin Nguyen still hopes to become MMA's first-ever three-weight champion ahead of his featherweight title rematch with prospect Christian Lee this week at ONE: Unstoppable Dreams in Singapore.

Nguyen (10-2) will put his featherweight title on the line against Lee (9-1), having inflicted the Hawaii resident's sole professional loss when they first met back in August 2016.

"The Situ-Asian" would go on to win his next three fights all by knockout which included winning the featherweight title and then the lightweight title against Marat Gafurov and Eduard Folayang respectively, becoming the promotion's first-ever two-weight champion in the process.

Nguyen, however, missed out on making history by becoming a simultaneous three-weight champion as he lost a razor-thin split-decision against ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes in March.

Despite his first loss since September 2015, the Sydney native opted for a quick layoff and will now face Lee in one of the biggest cards in ONE Championship history.

Lee's sister Angela will be headlining the card as she defends her women's atomweight title against Mei Yamaguchi and a win on the night for the duo would make them the first sibling champions in MMA history.

However, Nguyen is confident of a win and expects to beat Lee once again.

"My mindset has always been strong," Nguyen said at the ONE press conference Monday. "Every fight camp has always been the same. Yes, there's high stakes at risk, I risk losing one of these belts but I don't see it that way. I always train hard and I let my training do the talking and the results will show."

"I'm just excited to be here. Having these belts, it's always been a dream, it's always been part of the journey. At the end of the day, they're just an accessory, I'm all about spreading true values of martial arts and these belts can to prove everyone how much I've worked hard for them," he said.

However, Nguyen still has a rematch of his own in his sights as he hopes to run things back with Fernandes once again. Given the nature of their first meeting, Nguyen feels he deserves a rematch and the chance to win a title in an unprecedented third division.

"My ultimate goal as an MMA fighter is to capture that bantamweight title," Nguyen said. "I'll leave that in Bibiano's court. If I was the champion, and I won by split decision, I'd be definitely giving that guy an immediate rematch, to dominantly beat him in a way that I could be champion."

"I've done my best, he's done his best, unfortunately the judges were involved to make that decision but second time around we won't need any judges. I'll leave it in his court, but where will I be finishing my career? It will definitely be bantamweight," Nguyen added.

ONE: Unstoppable Dreams takes place May 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang. The event can be watched around the world live for free on ONE's new app available on iOS and Android devices.