Aung La N Sang once reigned over the ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He even took out then ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion Brandon Vera.
It should be no shock that he has been keeping close tabs on Anatoly Malykhin, who recently became MMA’s first-ever three-division king after defeating Reinier De Ridder for the ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship.
“The Burmese Python” was not surprised by the result at ONE 166: Qatar.
“It was a great fight. It went as I expected. We all know how some people can be stylistically a bad matchup for a certain fighter, and it doesn’t really matter what you do in a year’s time. Some people are just stylistically a bad matchup,” Aung La N Sang told ONE.
“Anatoly defended all the takedowns and was able to land his game plan which is to box him up. It pretty much broke Reinier in the third round.”
There is certainly no ill will or jealousy from the Kill Cliff MMA representative. Aung La N Sang offered nothing but well wishes to the Russian athlete for his historic feat.
“Anatoly is now a three-division champ. Congrats to him. It’s something that hasn’t been done in ONE Championship history, so congrats to him and his team,” the former two-division champion stated.
If the former World Champion had any advice for Malykhin, it was to expect a more difficult road to begin. “The Burmese Python” was adamant that defending the titles will be more difficult as every athlete, in three separate divisions, would be gunning to dethrone him.
He would know, as he once wore that burden around his shoulder.
“It’s very impressive, but defending is gonna be a lot harder, for sure. Defending on all three divisions is gonna be a lot harder,” Aung La N Sang admitted.
One of those athletes will be himself. Aung La N Sang made it known he is seeking a shot at the ONE Middleweight MMA World Title.
And why not? The former king is on a three-bout winning streak with three finishes. He is unquestionably one of the top contenders in the division.
“That’s the only reason why I keep fighting – to be champion again. That’s the only reason why I’m fighting still. I could retire now, but it wouldn’t be fun. It wouldn’t be fun for the ONE Championship middleweight division,” Aung La N Sang expressed.
The Myanmar superstar also sees the match as one of the biggest in ONE history.
Aung La N Sang feels their styles mesh perfectly to bring fans one of the most exciting title matches in the sport today.
“If we were to fight, there’s no way that any of us would back down, and we’ll put on a great show,” “The Burmese Python” predicted.
“Think about it – every fight that I fight, I fight for the finish. Every fight that he fights, he fights for the finish. There would be no yellow card in that fight. It would for sure be a barnburner for the fans.”
However, there is no timetable for when the prospective match could happen. Malykhin has a lot on his plate and may defend either of the two titles first. But Aung La N Sang is willing to wait for his shot.
Getting the title back is the only reason he still competes in the sport.
“I don’t care how long it takes, I’m still gunning for the title. And it’s one of those things that I don’t need to be in this sport anymore, but I want to be because I still have that hunger,” Aung La N Sang said.
“I still want to be champion again, and I still want to put on great shows for the fans. My job as a professional fighter is not done.”