YANGON, Myanmar —ONE Championship World Middleweight Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang, who is battling heavyweight Alain Ngalani at ONE: Hero’s Dream at Thuwunna Indoor Stadium as we went to press Friday, says he is not just fighting for himself but for his entire nation.
“This fight is for all my countrymen who give me all the strength through their support. It is an honor for me to represent my country and I will not let them down,” said N Sang in an interview with Manila Standard hours before his fight.
N Sang is confident enough in his abilities to take on a full blown heavyweight in Ngalani.
“My game plan is to keep the pressure on him throughout. Whatever opening he gives I will take. If he gives an arm I will take it and beat him with an arm bar. If he leaves his face or head open then I will hit him. I believe in my standup. I believe I can defeat him,” N Sang said.
Ngalani is a fearsome opponent and will be N Sang’s most formidable challenge in his professional MMA career. Ngalani is a many-time Muay Thai and kickboxing heavyweight world champion. He has numerous knockouts over heavyweights in his MMA career and is much heavier than N Sang when they entered the cage.
“He has very good pedigree,” said N Sang of Ngalani. “But I’ve seen all his fights. He is super athletic. But I feel I am a more complete fighter. I expect to come out with a win. I expect to finish him in two rounds.”
The middleweight champion said that as a fighter he doesn’t want to turn down fights. He was given a good offer to take on Ngalani and accepted it. But for his next fight he plans to go back down to middleweight and defend his crown.
“I want to become a dominant middleweight champion. I want to defend my title against the best challengers many times. So going up in weight often is not really a good idea if you want longevity. I am going back to middleweight for my next fight,” N Sang said.
N Sang is a hero in Myanmar not just for being a fighter but also as role model. He exemplifies the importance of discipline and sacrifice. He has shown that anyone can achieve success with perseverance. He has a wife and a two-year-old son. He says he has no objections if his son decides to become a fighter.
“I will teach my son self-defense. If he is persistent then I would even coach him. But being a fighter is a whole different thing. It requires so much sacrifice and you have to go through so much hardship. It may not be for him. I will be happy to teach him to be a good human being first,” said N Sang.