‘The Best Is Yet To Come’ – Aung La N Sang Promises A Thriller Against Unbeaten Shamil Erdogan In Denver
Former two-division ONE MMA World Champion Aung La N Sang is planning to put on the best performance of his illustrious career on September 6 at ONE 168: Denver.
That night, “The Burmese Python” will square off with undefeated Dagestani grappler Shamil Erdogan in a high-stakes middleweight MMA showdown at Ball Arena that could determine the division’s next top contender.
Long regarded as one of the organization’s biggest superstars and most dangerous knockout artists, the 39-year-old has spent the last decade competing under ONE’s bright lights.
His showdown against Erdogan will mark his 20th appearance in the world’s largest martial arts organization, and he vows to deliver a thriller in Denver:
Aung La N Sang told onefc.com:
“Ten years, 20 fights, man. Put some respect on my name. But I’m excited, man. The best is yet to come, and I promise you that I’m not just saying that. The best is yet to come, and I’m gonna put on a banger fight.”
The former ONE World Champion has a serious test in front of him.
A world-class wrestler who has looked nothing short of dominant thus far in his MMA career, Erdogan might be the division’s most powerful takedown artist.
But while Aung La respects his foe’s elite skills, he’s ready to fire back once the Circle door closes:
“I think he’s gonna dictate where the fight is going to happen, but we’re gonna fight. And it’s gonna be a hard fight. It’s going to be a hard three-rounder, and I’m going to look to break his face.”
Indeed, “The Burmese Python” tends to thrive in knockdown, drag-out wars, often finding the KO or submission once both he and his opponent have traded their best shots.
With that in mind, he hopes to pull Erdogan into deep waters and put him away late:
“I wanna make it a hard, hard fight. I wanna feel every second of this. I wanna feel the pain and everything. I wanna make it a painful three-round fight where I finish him in the third round.”
Aung La N Sang Targets Anatoly Malykhin Next
If Aung La N Sang can defeat Shamil Erdogan, he’ll find himself on a four-fight winning streak and quite possibly become the next challenger for reigning ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin.
The Myanmar legend certainly isn’t looking past ONE 168: Denver, but he’s well aware that a victory could earn him a date with the undefeated three-division king:
“Guys like [Erdogan], you know, undefeated Russians – they’re good hammers. He’s not the last undefeated Russian I want to fight, either.”
As he now approaches the 43rd fight of his incredible career, Aung La N Sang is happy to make his case for a shot at the ONE Middleweight MMA World Title he once held.
That chance at gold, though, depends entirely on how he performs against Erdogan.
He added:
“The longest-reigning champ, the most title defenses, and on a four-winning streak should get the title [shot], but really nothing matters more than Shamil.
“We can talk all we want, but nothing really matters unless I get the job done, and it’s a hard job. It ain’t an easy job.”
