The mixed martial arts (MMA) bout between Aung La N Sang and Vitaly Bigdash has been years in the making. It is special not only because of the power these two middleweights can unleash inside the circle, but also the high stake and backstory they have built.

 

 

 

 

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“The Burmese Python” first crossed paths with the Russian in January 2017, where then-ONE Middleweight world champion Bigdash earned a unanimous win and retained the title. Five months later, however, Aung La N Sang avenged his loss and wrote his name in history as Myanmar’s first-ever world champion in any sport.

Since then, Aung La N Sang has added the ONE Light Heavyweight world title to his trophy case and became a two-division king.

He rose to global fame and continued to inspire the people of his country. A bronze statue was even erected in 2018 at the Kachin National Manau Park in his hometown of Myitkyina in Myanmar.

However, he lost both belts to Reinier de Ridder in the past two years and he is on his way to building another opportunity to reclaim the gold.

On the other side of the story, Bigdash went on to have mixed success inside the circle. Though he dropped another bout, he won his next two fights with devastating submission finishes.

Both men now have their eyes set not only on regaining their top position but also settling an old score that dates back five years. For Aung La N Sang, Bigdash is not just an opponent, but a rival that has helped push him to be where he is right now.

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“I approached this as a brand-new fight. It’s not like we fought a few months ago. It’s been five years. But we did go 10 rounds, so I know what his strong suit is. I know what his skill set is. But he’s still going to develop as a fighter, and I’m still going to develop as a fighter. You’re going to see a better version, a better trilogy match, than what you saw in the first two showings,” says the 36-year-old Aung La N Sang.

“Every fight is very important. Every win is very important. This fight is very important. It’s very, very important to me. I want to put a stamp on this trilogy match, and I want him to never, never, never, never, ever want to fight me again.

“I’m expecting a finish. I always fight for the finish. Unfortunately, in the last two meetings [with Bigdash], we weren’t able to get a finish. But, for me, it’s kill or be killed.”

Bigdash has the same desire to settle the trilogy. Their third encounter was initially slated to happen in both 2020 and 2021, but it did not come into fruition. After his latest submission victory over “King Kong Warrior” Fan Rong last December, Bigdash only had one name on his mind.

“I have only one opponent in mind. That’s Aung La. I’m waiting for you. Get over here!”

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This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship