ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight World Champion Aung La N Sang is fresh from his title defense against ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera at ONE: CENTURY.
Though he is recovering from a thumb injury he suffered in that bout, “The Burmese Python” is feeling great to end the year, but not without contemplating on his next move.
The 34-year-old dual champ says he has his eyes set on cleaning out the division, specifically on facing unbeaten Dutch middleweight Reinier de Ridder next.
“Everybody, all the contenders at middleweight, that’s still the plan,” Aung said per South China Morning Post.
“I wanna take them out. You know what’s funny is Reinier after he won in Malaysia called me out. So I have something for him. If he wants to do it we can get it done.”
To say that de Ridder is a formidable opponent for Aung La is an understatement.
De Ridder sports an unblemished 11-0 professional mixed martial arts record. All 11 of his victories have come by finish, with seven of them ending in the first round. He is a European champion well-versed in Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
A match between de Ridder and Aung La would no doubt be competitive. But if that bout doesn’t come to fruition just yet, there are other options.
“I know Leandro [Ataides] and [Vitaly] Bigdash are going at it. I’d like to fight the winner as well. Anybody in the middleweight division, I’m down,” Aung La said.
As it stands, Bigdash is the last man to have defeated “The Burmese Python.” That setback happened nearly three years ago in 2017, and Aung La came back immediately to avenge that loss and begin his run as ONE Middleweight World Champion.
Currently riding a seven bout winning streak, Aung La is poised for massive 2020 wherein he could reach even loftier heights than he already has.
