Skip to main content

​​Burmese countrymen motivate Aung La N Sang to win world title

By

Burmese mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar Aung La N Sang will have the opportunity of a lifetime as he gets a deserving shot at the ONE Middleweight World Championship belt.
Aung La challenges division kingpin Vitaly Bigdash in the main event of ONE: QUEST FOR POWER, which takes place at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January.
Marcin Prachnio was originally penciled to lock horns with Bigdash for the gold-plated strap, but the highly-touted Polish combatant was forced to withdraw from the middleweight championship clash due to an injury.
Stepping in to replace Prachnio is Aung La, who is riding high on a remarkable four-fight winning streak.
2016 has been a big year for the man known as “The Burmese Python,” who got his nickname due to his constricting style of fighting. Aung La won three consecutive fights in impressive fashion last year.
Returning from a nearly two-year hiatus, Aung La showed that he did not have cage rust in him by outstandingly submitting Egyptian stalwart Mohamed Ali with a first-round guillotine choke in March.
Aung La followed it up by handing Aleksei Butorin his first career defeat last August, forcing the Russian standout to tap with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.
The 31-year-old Burmese fighter capped off his 2016 calendar by carving a unanimous decision win over ex-light heavyweight title contender Michal Pasternak with a masterful striking and wrestling performance this past October.
Aung La stressed that he has done more than enough to vie for Bigdash’s intricately-crafted championship belt.
“My last two fights have been against a guy who was supposed to fight for the title and an ex-title contender. For sure, I deserved my position to challenge Vitaly Bigdash for the title. I am not going to waste this wonderful opportunity,” he said.
Aung La has a tall order in front of him as Bigdash brings an immaculate record of 8-0 into the scheduled five-round title tilt.
The 32-year-old Russian brute has not gone the distance yet in his nearly five-year prizefighting career, owning four knockout victories and four submission triumphs.

Although Bigdash poses to be the roadblock to Aung La’s path to becoming the first Burmese MMA world champion, the latter is confident that he will walk away with the world title belt around his waist.
Aung La shared that his countrymen are his source of strength and motivation to claim the ONE Middleweight World Championship title.
“I feel very honored to be able to represent my people. They love the sport. I am very surprised to how much support I get from the people. They are my inspiration every time that I compete. Now, I am so motivated to win the title for the people of Myanmar,” he stated.
According to Aung La, winning the ONE Middleweight World Championship is important to him as he sees it as his chance to repay the nation’s steadfast support throughout his career.
“I would like to repay the unwavering support that they gave me all throughout the years by winning the ONE Middleweight World Championship belt. It’s my way of saying thank you to them,” he asserted.
Even though it was given to him on a short notice, Aung La remains grateful that ONE Championship awarded the title shot to him.
“My Christmas gift came late, but I am happy that ONE Championship gave me this chance to compete for a world title. I have been working so hard to reach this stage. This is it,” he declared.

​
​
For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.


About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in 
Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First 116KM Community Run in the Philippines Logs 3.5 Million Steps to Champion Children’s Right to Safe Play

By
Manila, Philippines, 24 June 2025 – More than 3.5 million steps and over 2,500 collective kilometers were logged during the Move for Play: Infinity 116KM Run, the country’s first-ever open-road ultra-endurance community run. Organized by the non-profit organization  FundLife , the event held from June 14 to 15 brought runners from Clark to Makati in a call to action for safe, inclusive, and accessible play spaces for children in under-resourced communities. The run coincided with the United Nations International Day of Play and was conducted on active roads and highways, requiring participants to navigate traffic, potholes, heat, and city congestion. The 116-kilometer route symbolized the difficult and often dangerous terrain many Filipino children must cross daily to access education and recreation. A total of 31 ultra-runners registered to complete the full route, while over 40 additional runners joined for various segments. 20 completed the entire cour...
Post a Comment
Read more

“A Force of Four in Year 4”: Vermosa Green Run champions fitness, sustainability, youth sports, and animal welfare in 2025

By
The Green Run at Vermosa is back for the fourth consecutive time this June with a renewed commitment to fitness, environmental sustainability, animal welfare and youth sports development. Entitled Vermosa Green Run 2025: A Force of Four in Year 4, it will be off and running on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at the Vermosa Estate in Imus, Cavite. This year, Ayala Land’s flagship multi-level running event launches a Plastic Donation and Collection Drive alongside its 3K, 5K, 10K, and 21K road races. All participants are encouraged to bring used plastics that will be recycled and repurposed by Ayala Land Estates Inc. and Makati Development Corporation (MDC). The plastic waste will be transformed into sustainable construction materials, concrete aggregates and other tools to build sidewalks and fences that will contribute to Ayala Land’s green development initiatives. Those who donate get a discounted rate on their Green Run registration. Coming back  for the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Staying Active Together: Herbalife Run Club Marks Global Running Day with 45-Day Challenge

By
MANILA, 13 June 2025 –  In celebration of Global Running Day, Herbalife, a premier health and wellness company, community, and platform, is making fitness more engaging and sustainable through the Herbalife Run Club. Designed to foster motivation and connection, the club brings together employees and distributors in a supportive environment where they can pursue their fitness goals while building meaningful relationships with like-minded individuals. The club also recently introduced a 45-day challenge in April as part of Herbalife FLEX45 Challenge. The challenge, a global initiative to mark Herbalife’s 45th anniversary, is a 45-day program focused on health, fitness, and personal development, encouraging participants to make positive changes in their lifestyle. In the Philippines, participants are encouraged to run or walk at least 5km a day, totalling 225km by the end of the 45-day challenge. The challenge culminated just before the Global Running Day, with over 20...
Post a Comment
Read more