ONE Championship Stalwart Aung La N Sang Picks the Two Fighters That Stood Out to Him in 2022

Aung La N Sang is a well-known figure among ONE Championship viewers and the entire MMA community, as well. The Burmese-American has competed across more than one weight division in ONE Championship. He is a former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion of ONE and also a national icon of the country Myanmar. The ‘Burmese Python’ was the promotion’s second fighter to hold championships across two divisions.

After his reign as one of the most prominent faces of the ONE Championship, Sang is currently in the ending phase of his career. Recently, in an interview with ONE, the ‘Burmese-American’ vocalized his opinion about the two fighters who caught his eye the most in the year gone by.

Aung La N Sang chose the Russian and the Brazilian

Sang gave out his ‘fighters of the year’ 2022 picks, stating, “This year was the year for [Malykhin] and Fabricio Andrade, for sure.” The Russian, Anatoly Malykihn had put up one of the most dominant showdowns of the entire year. His ONE on Prime Video 5 main event against ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier De Ridder ended with De Ridder being battered by him and carried off the arena in a stretcher.

‘Saldkiy’ also crowned himself the ONE Light Heavyweight Champion after this brutal beat down of ‘The Dutch Knight’.

Sang further stated, “The next couple of years, they’re going to keep doing their thing. Both of them are fairly young.” A lot would probably agree with ‘The Burmese Python’, especially after the showcase of skills that these two have put on inside the circle this year.

READ MORE – “I Think They’re Both Trash” – Arjan Bhullar Talks Reinier De Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin

Although Fabricio Andrade missed out on his bantamweight title this year, the Brazilian thrilled the ONE audience with exceptional fights. In his bout with the Chinese, Li Kai Wen displayed his insane combat skills inside the circle. ‘Wonder Boy’ also exhibited his outstanding class in his bout against Kwon Won Il where he finished off his opponent via a knockout in June 2022.

Aung La N Sang appreciated Anatoly Malykhin and predicted long careers for both

‘The Burmese Python’ also stated, “I think [Andrade] is one of those guys that you should look at long-term. He could probably fight for the next 10 years. He’s going to be a superstar. For a heavyweight, Anatoly is super young. He could fight for the next 10 years, too. I’m excited for them”. Sang’s prediction of them going strong for another decade implied the amount of appreciation he had for them.

The undefeated two-division champion, Malykhin, also garnered special praise from Sang. He talked about the meteoric rise of ‘Sladkiy’ from his first fight in ONE Championship to become a simultaneous two-weight division champion.

READ MORE – “Enough Wrestling, De Ridder” – Anatoly Malykhin Implores RDR to Stand and Trade at ONE on Prime Video 5

Sand stated, “He is very impressive. When he started off, we thought he was just a wrestler with good boxing. But now we can see he’s well-rounded. He’s a great mixed martial artist and a world champion in two divisions. He’s going to do big things.” It’s pertinent to note that ‘the Burmese’ lost his Light Heavyweight title to De Ridder before Malykhin battered him and claimed it to his name.

‘Wonder Boy’ Andrade also desired to continue his superb form of 2022 in 2023. The Brazilian stated, “For 2023, I can’t expect anything different. I believe that many good things will happen. My first goal for 2023 is to become the World Champion in my division. After that, I intend to defend the belt”.

Understandably, Andrade is thirsty for the Bantamweight Title which he was very close to achieving against John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3.