“I plan on breaking him in the third round” - Aung La N Sang eyes late finish of Shamil Erdogan at ONE 168: Denver
Aung La N Sang has his sights set on a fourth-straight finish when he steps back inside the Circle in September.
Kicking off his career resurgence with a spectacular first-round knockout of MMA legend Yushin Okami at ONE 163, 'The Burmese Python' plans on taking another step toward a shot at middleweight gold when he meets undefeated Turkish standout Shamil Erdogan at ONE 168: Denver.
Adding highlight-reel finishes against Gilberto Galvao and Fan Rong in his last two outings, Aung La is riding a massive wave of momentum that shows no signs of stopping. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, the Myanmar superstar said:
"On September 6, my plan against Shamil is to finish him. I plan on breaking him in the third round."
Overall, Aung La has 30 career wins to his credit—half of them coming under the ONE Championship banner. He is also a former two-division world champion, having claimed both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles before surrendering them in back-to-back bouts with Reinier de Ridder.
Shamil Erdogan ready to prove himself against Aung La N Sang
While the 39-year-old Aung La N Sang has looked like 'The Burmese Python' of old in his last few outings, he'll face a very tough test when he welcomes back a fighter who has never once known defeat in his pro-MMA career.
Making his ONE debut in June 2023, Shamil Erdogan quickly established himself as one of the middleweight division's newest contenders, KO'ing Fan Rong 37 seconds into the second round.
With a win over Aung La N Sang, Erdogan will not only end the hot streak of one of ONE Championship's most beloved stars, but he may very well set the stage for a clash with three-division king Anatoly Malykhin who currently holds the middleweight belt — among many others.
Follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena.