Former two-division champion Aung La N Sang is all set to feature at the upcoming ONE 168: Denver on U.S. primetime on Friday, September 6. ‘The Burmese Python’ is showing no signs of slowing down and will be taking on Shamil Erdogan in a middleweight MMA bout next. At 39 years of age, he has his eyes set on the World Title once again and a win against Erdogan will help him in his cause. Anatoly Malykhin currently holds the divisional crown and the former champion might just have to go against him to win the title.  

The Russian juggernaut referred to Aung La as his “brother” before and shut down any idea of defending his belt against him, However, the 39-year-old recently sat down for a chat with the South China Morning Post and shared his opinion on the whole. He said, “Let’s be like honest right. I’m in the middleweight division like my goal is to be the champion one day right. And like of course, you don’t wanna fight your friend right?”

“But like I don’t know right now, but if the promotion needs a fight that needs to happen you know it will happen. But I’m not pushing for it but my goal is to be champion again but in my head, there’s nothing past Shamil right now,” he added. For Aung La N Sang to get a title shot, he first needs to get past the challenge of Erdogan. Let us take a look at what he feels about his next clash. 

Aung La N Sang isn’t quite bothered about the hype surrounding his opponent 

There are very few fighters in the middleweight division who have had a run like the former two-division champion. The 39-year-old is unbeaten in his last three fights and is slowly returning to his best form. He is now focused on winning the title he once held and defended valiantly against challengers.

Standing in his way is Shamil Erdogan, who impressed one and all with his debut performance against Fan Rong at ONE Friday Fights 22. Coming from a wrestling background, the 34-year-old showed that he has a strong striking game as well after he knocked out the Chinese fighter in the second round. A win against the Dagestani fighter will help ‘The Burmese Python’ extend his winning streak to four fights.

While there is a lot of hype around the fight, Aung La is confident of his skill sets and is not intimidated by Erdogan. During a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, he gave an insight about his game plan. He said, “Yeah I think it’s gonna be a fun one. I want to take him to deep water and make him feel it you know. I’ve been preparing very hard for this fight so we going to have a fun one.” 

While he may have his eyes set on the title, the veteran fighter is focused only on his next opponent and wants to get the job done. If he gets a title shot, he will have to go against Anatoly Malykhin, who is preparing himself for his clash against ‘Reug Reug’ in his ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title defense at ONE 169: Atlanta in November. Will he defend the middleweight title against Aung next? 

Will Anatoly Malykhin And Aung La N Sang Set Up A Clash In The Future? 

Anatoly Malykhin made history earlier this year when he claimed his third MMA World Title and now reigns over the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight divisions. He is busy preparing to defend the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title at ONE 169: Atlanta against “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane. Both fighters have been involved in a lot of social media brawls lately, but will finally get to settle things in the November card.

Malykhin is riding high on confidence and believes he can knock out his challenger to defend his title. ‘Reug Reug’ on the other hand is desperate to prove to the world that he is better than the Russian. The 36-year-old has always been vocal about defending his titles against anyone in the promotion. However, during one of his interviews with ONE Championship, he made it clear that he doesn’t have much desire to face ‘The Burmese Python’.

However, he also made it clear that he wouldn’t be backing away from the challenge if the fight ever happens in the future. Currently, both fighters are focusing on their upcoming clash and are not quite worried about each other. However, it will be interesting to see whether the fight between the two happens in the future or not.

Who do you think will win the fight between the two? Let us know your pick in the comments below.