ONE Middleweight Champion Aung La N Sang will be looking to close the book on his rivalry with Russia’s Vitaly Bigdash when they next faceoff inside the ONE Circle.
The pair twice went the distance in 2017, with each fighter earning a win apiece. Bigdash drew first blood but came up short three months later in Myanmar when Aung La claimed the title and became in the process, Myanmar’s first international sports champion.
Since winning the strap on home soil, Aung La has gone on a tear; undefeated in seven bouts, he has also captured the ONE Light heavyweight Championship and is currently one of the promotion’s biggest stars.
However, hiding in the shadows has always been the Bigdash trilogy bout. The Russian makes no secret of the fact that he believes Aung La’s hometown advantage influenced the judges, and he has been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to avenge his loss to the “Burmese Python.”
Bigdash’s chance was due to come on April 10 at ONE: Infinity 1, but the ongoing global pandemic put a stop to that event. The matchup is still in the works, and when they do clash, Aung La knows precisely what he is aiming for when the cage doors close behind him.
“A finish, so that there’s no question whatsoever, and I want to make sure he doesn’t ever want to fight me again,” Aung La said an interview with John Hyon Ko of Kumite TV.
” I know that he put himself on his Instagram as the rightful middleweight champion. It doesn’t matter. It is what is. I want him to come confident, I want him to have a good camp, and he is crafty. He’s fast and agile and super athletic. It’s going to be good.”
The Myanmar fighter is in hot demand at the moment, on top of a new ten bout contract, he has also been called out by ONE Welterweight Champion Kiamrian Abbasov.
Aung La says he is open to facing Abbasov, provided the Kyrgyzstan fighter first puts in the work to earn a shot at the middleweight title.
“He needs to defend his belt. He lost to Luis Santos a few fights ago, come on, focus on your division. I want to focus on defending middleweight,” he said.
“If he comes up and fights a few contenders and does good, of course, I would love to fight him. I would love to fight anybody;I am the champion, but if there is someone that is worthy or better than me, let’s go, let’s do it.
“I am not worried about losing my championship; it doesn’t matter to me at all. I just want to put on great shows and put on good matches for the fans.”
Aung La has one of the most unique stories in MMA. He has gone from unknown journeyman fighter, competing on regional shows in the USA, to two-division ONE champion and Myanmar’s biggest star. His achievements are a testament to his hard work and are an example of what perseverance can achieve.
“Its not just my career it can be for anybody’s career, you can make it to the top, you can make it to the pinnacle if you keep going and going at a steady speed.”
Aung La’s last outing saw him defend his Light Heavyweight strap by stopping ONE Heavyweight Champion Bandon Vera. If he can do the same to Bigdash, it will be the perfect way to end this chapter of his career and the ideal way to begin the next.
Do you see Aung La Finishing Bigdash?