"Talk about heart" - Fans give Aung La N Sang his deserved flowers in crazy knockout of Ken Hasegawa in Yangon
Ken Hasegawa was one of the toughest opponents of former two-division MMA world champion Aung La N Sang, as they crossed paths twice in the promotion in 2018 and 2019.
However, the best fight the MMA superstars had was their first encounter in June 2018 at ONE: Spirit Of A Warrior, which went down on Aung La's home turf inside the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon.
The fight highlights of this incredibly exciting clash were reposted by ONE Championship on their Instagram recently, and they captioned it with:
"Toughest MMA fight EVER 😮💨 Will Aung La N Sang deliver another massive knockout when facing Shamil Erdogan at ONE 168: Denver? @aunglansang"
The Japanese sensation's counterstrikes and multiple blitzes of attack caused problems for Aung La throughout the match, making the world championship showdown even more exciting.
However, 'The Burmese Python' finally solved Hasegawa's puzzle in the fifth and final round by uncorking a picture-perfect uppercut that sent him crashing down the canvas face first.
This incredible and career-defining performance from Aung La has left fans in awe and made them shower positive messages about him, especially users @haaitzdeman, @eloave.x, @limktg_7132, @sultan.akn, and @_rgbee_, who commented:
"Wow talk about heart !! 👏"
"Mad respect to him for not giving up 🔥👏🏾 so intense!"
"That was the Greatest ONE MMA fight in history! What a War! and the fact that K.O. at the 5th & final round makes it even more EPIC! 🇲🇲🐍👊🏽🔥🇯🇵"
"Lion hearts both of them, bro was drained and still kept tryna go. These guys are built different fosho 💯💪🏽"
"That was straight up war. Congrats to the Burmese Python!"
Aung La is back in action to face Shamil Erdogan at ONE 168: Denver
After his second-round submission win over Fan Rong in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10 that extended his current win streak to three, Aung La has been biding his time for a proper return.
After a bit of wait, the Kill Cliff FC representative is now booked for a comeback, as he takes on the challenge of Turkish MMA star Shamil Erdogan on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver in a middleweight MMA bout.
ONE 168: Denver will air live from the Ball Arena in U.S. primetime on Sept. 6. Tickets for the event are now available on sale on Ticketmaster.