“An excellent win” - Anatoly Malykhin stacks praise on ‘bright’ Shamil Erdogan after crushing win over Aung La N Sang in Denver
Three-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin was very impressed with the performance of Shamil Erdogan at ONE 168: Denver.
After earning a second-round knockout against Fan Rong in his promotional debut at ONE Friday Fight 22 last year, the undefeated Turkish standout returned to martial arts' biggest global stage for a scrap with one of the most prolific finishers in ONE history, Aung La N Sang.
Determined to score his fourth-straight finish, 'The Burmese Python' instead found himself utterly dominated from the opening bell until finally succumbing to a barrage of ground-and-pound strikes just past the halfway point of round two.
With the win, Erdogan could very well be in line for a shot at the ONE middleweight MMA world title currently held by Anatoly Malykhin. Offering his thoughts on Erdogan's impressive performance in The Mile High City, Malykhin told the promotion:
“It was a good fight, great fight, an excellent win for Shamil – bright, dynamic, and he’s got a strong punch and solid grappling."
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 168: Denver replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
Anatoly Malykhin defends his title against 'Reug Reug' at ONE 169: Atlanta
Before Anatoly Malykhin can concern himself with a potential clash against Shamil Erdogan, the triple-champ will put his ONE heavyweight MMA world title on the line this November when ONE Championship heads to State Farm Arena for a loaded ONE 169: Atlanta card.
There, Malykhin will defend his heavyweight crown against Senegalese sensation 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane.
Kane earned his opportunity to challenge 'Sladkiy' with a hard-fought decision victory over 17-time BJJ world champion Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida at ONE Fight Night 13. Overall, Kane is 6-1 in his mixed martial arts career with highlight-reel knockouts over Alain Ngalani, Patrick Schmid, and Batradz Gazzaev.
You can purchase tickets for ONE 169: Atlanta on Nov. 8 at State Farm Arena via Ticketmaster.