Exclusive | Martin Nguyen out of ONE on TNT 2 co-main event because of ‘health and safety protocols’
- Former featherweight champ’s fight with Kim Jae-woong off after Nguyen comes in close contact with Covid-19 case
- SCMP MMA understands Nguyen sat behind passenger on flight from Dubai to Singapore who tested positive, but tested negative himself
Martin Nguyen’s ONE on TNT 2 co-main event against “The Fighting God” Kim Jae-woong has been scratched.
ONE Championship cited “health and safety protocols” as the reason for cancelling the bout. It is unclear if the fight will be rescheduled for the promotion’s next live show, April 29’s ONE on TNT 4.
SCMP MMA understands former ONE featherweight king Nguyen (13-4) came into close contact with a positive Covid-19 case last week, but has since tested negative himself.
“The Situ-Asian” was seated behind a passenger who tested positive on a layover flight to Singapore from Dubai, having began his journey from Florida where he was in training camp at Sanford MMA.
Atomweight kick-boxing champ Janet Todd’s Muay Thai bout against Norway’s Anne Line Hogstad will now serve as the ONE on TNT 2 co-main event.
The first three ONE on TNT cards have been hit by a series of cancellations during fight week. ONE on TNT 1 was broadcast live this morning from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, with ONE on TNT 2 and ONE on TNT 3 to be pre-recorded later, and broadcast on April 15 and April 22.
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SCMP MMA contributor Tom Taylor reported on Wednesday that Medhi Barghi was out of his undercard heavyweight MMA bout with Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane, and that Rade Opacic was out of his kick-boxing fight with Patrick Schmid, both because of health and safety protocols.
Kane and Schmid met in a live short-notice MMA fight in the opening bout of ONE on TNT 1.
The International Business Times reported later on Wednesday that Filipino Team Lakay pair Stephen Loman and Lito Adiwang had both tested positive for Covid-19 and are out of their respective MMA bouts.
ONE newcomer Loman was set to face UFC veteran John Lineker in a bantamweight bout, with “Thunder Kid” Adiwang having been scheduled against Jarred Brooks in a strawweight clash for ONE on TNT 2.
“Pretty Boy” Troy Worthen will now face “Hands of Stone” Lineker on April 29 at ONE on TNT 4.
Loman and Adiwang’s stablemate Eduard Folayang is set to face Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama on the same card but is now under observation, according to the International Business Times, along with the rest of Team Lakay’s travelling party.
