ONE 168 results: Aung La N Sang vs. Shamil Erdogan
Former two-division ONE world champion Aung La N Sang made his return to the Circle on Friday night for the first time in more than 16 months.
Having finished his last three opponents, including back-to-back KOs against Yushin Okami and Gilberto Galvao, ‘The Burmese Python’ looked to keep the streak alive against undefeated Dagestani wrestler Shamil Erdogan. Representing Turkey, Erdogan entered the bout with a perfect 9-0 record and a successful showing in his ONE Championship debut last year via a first-round finish against Fan Rong.
Round 1: Aung La gets momentarily wobbled from a left hand right out of the gate. Aung La attempts to fire back, but Erdogan ducks under and scores a quick takedown against the fence. Aung La briefly gets back to his feet but gets taken right back down, giving up his back in the process. Aung La is doing a good job of fighting the grip but can’t break free.
Aung La again fights his way on, only to be muscled right back down. Erdogan lands a nice knee on the ground and throws a flurry of short elbows as the opening round comes to a close.
Round 2: Aung La eats a jab before fending off a high kick from Erdogan. Aung La looks gassed after a grueling first round and Erdogan is beginning to pour it on with a mixture of strikes, including a sneaking elbow. Unable to put Aung La on the mat with his fists, Erdogan goes back to his grappling, taking Aung La down to the mat with ease and unleashing a slew of ground-and-pound strikes while holding ‘The Burmese Python’ down.
After repeated warnings from the referee to defend himself, Herb Dean had no choice but to step in and stop the bout in the second.
ONE 168: Denver - Aung La N Sang vs. Shamil Erdogan Official Result
With the loss, Aung La N Sang saw his three-fight unbeaten streak snapped and his title aspirations dashed—for the time being.
As for Shamil Erdogan, the rising middleweight star now has back-to-back finishes inside the Circle and could very well be the next man in line for a shot at three-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin, who currently holds the middleweight strap.
Erdogan was ineligible to take home an extra $50,000 after failing to make weight for his ONE 168: Denver matchup.
Official Result: Shamil Erdogan defeated Aung La L Sang via TKO (ground-and-pound) at 2:48 of round two (MMA - catchweight 213.75lbs)