Aung La N Sang Recalls His Best Performance In ONE Championship

Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang has turned in some of the finest performances in ONE Championship history.

The 33-year-old has been outstanding as he rose through the ranks, and then claimed the ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Titles.

However, he admits he only started to fulfill his potential as a martial artist after his first taste of gold.

In January this year, the Myanmar sports icon – who was six months and one bout removed from claiming middleweight gold – started looking for a new coach and team that would elevate his game to the next level.

He connected with head coach Henri Hooft and his team at Hard Knocks 365 in Florida, USA.

“The Burmese Python” spent several weeks training at the gym in Fort Lauderdale, and in February, he had his first chance to put his new skills to the test and see if his new arrangement was paying off.

He stepped into the cage to challenge Brazil’s Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado for the vacant ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD.

Although he has impressed his countrymen several times inside the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, Aung La N Sang delivered a history-making effort that was arguably the best finish of his career.

“I like the hard fights, like the second [Vitaly] Bigdash fight was fun, and my last fight against Ken Hasegawa was a fun fight, but I felt really on point against Machado,” Aung La N Sang says.

“I felt where his head was and where my kick was. Everything was on point. That was my favorite performance.”

It is easy to understand why “The Burmese Python” enjoyed the result.

He knocked out Machado in 56 seconds, which set a new record for the fastest stoppage victory in the promotion’s light heavyweight division. Also, he became only the second two-division ONE World Champion.

Despite those accomplishments, it stands as his favorite performance for another reason.

Aung La N Sang felt confident and prepared ahead of the match, which allowed him to execute his game plan flawlessly.

“I had a coach that believed in my kicks, and I had a good group of killers that I trained with every day. The camp was on point,” he states.

“When I walked [into the cage], I felt like I was ready – I was ready for it to be a one-rounder or a five-rounder. I was ready for everything and anything. I felt really focused and dialed in.

“Physically, I was ready. Mentally, I was ready. Spiritually, I was ready.”

To put that into perspective, Aung La N Sang contrasts the experience with his victory against four-time Muay Thai and kickboxing heavyweight world champion Alain “The Panther” Ngalani, which took place at ONE: HERO’S DREAM the previous November.

The pair collided in the promotion’s inaugural Open Weight Super-Bout, and the Myanmar hero submitted him via guillotine choke in the opening stanza.

However, unlike in his showdown with “Bebezao,” he did not feel like he was firing on all cylinders that evening in Yangon.

“In the Ngalani fight, even though I won in the first round, that was a tough fight for me,” Aung La N Sang admits.

“I don’t like the feeling when you go into a fight thinking, ‘I hope I get the finish,’ as opposed to when I went in there against Machado, I didn’t care what he was going to do.

“I didn’t care if it was one round, two rounds, three rounds, four rounds, or five rounds – I was going to go in there and handle my business.”

“The Burmese Python” felt like everything was working his favor – especially when the Brazilian started circling towards his power side.

“The first two kicks, I set it up to the body,” Aung La N Sang explains.

“So, as I landed those kicks to the body, I saw his hand getting lower. I saw his head drift more to the right side, and I threw that head kick. It was like my shin connected and he just fell, and I jumped in for the finish.”

It was the culmination of all his hard work under Hooft.

Aung La N Sang captured a second ONE World Title, broke records, and most importantly, confirmed he made the right decision to move his training camp to Hard Knocks 365.

Since then, he has moved his family to Florida to make the facility his permanent base, where he is working hard to prepare for his next assignment.

The Myanmar hero hopes to replicate this success when he defends his middleweight belt against Mohammad “O Lutador” Karaki at ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS on Friday, 26 October.

If “The Burmese Python” has continued to make improvements at the same pace as he has done so far this year, then the fans in the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium could be in for a historic performance.