Top 20 Asian MMA fighters for 2020, part 3: Aung La N Sang, UFC’s Song Yadong feature in Nos 10-6

Asian mixed martial arts has simply gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months, what with China seeing its first UFC champ crowned in strawweight Zhang “Magnum” Weili, and the Singapore-based One Championship shaking things up for the first time in Japan with three monster cards. The region’s potential – in terms of both fighters and audiences – has been on show each and every week across promotions everywhere. But we here at SCMP Martial Arts are now looking forward, and to the fighters we feel can carry the sport onwards into 2020 and, in most cases, far beyond. So we’re counting down our top 20 Asian fighters, across all divisions and promotions, and from today we get down to the business end of the matter. You can check out Nos 20-16 here, and Nos 15-11 here. 10. Song “Kung Fu Monkey” Yadong (UFC) Age: 22. Country: China. Record: 15-4-1, 1 no contest. Weight class: Bantamweight OK, so we here at the Post have been in the Kung Fu Monkey’s corner for a while now. Granted, pure professionalism demands we are neutral observers but what’s not to love about a guy who was packed off to learn his craft at the famed schools that surround China’s Shaolin Temple, only to find they didn’t allow him to fight as much – or as hard – as he liked. Song faked an ID card to get into the professional side of the sport aged 15, danced through the regional promotions before getting a late call up when the UFC debuted in mainland China with their card in Shanghai back in 2017. He won, easily, then built up a 4-0 record before a reality check came at the start of the month in the shape of American prospect Cody “The Spartan” Stamann (18-2-1). The pair battled to a draw which seemed kinder on Song than it did on Stamann. The bonus for the Chinese fighter was it would have highlighted exactly where Team Alpha Male have to work as Song eyes rising higher than his current ranking of 13. There are superstars ahead of him who would be able to exploit any deficiencies, especially on the ground, but time is most definitely on Song’s side. Next fight: N/A 9. Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang (One Championship) Age: 34. Country: Myanmar. Record: 26-10, 1 NC. Weight class: Middleweight/light heavyweight Proof positive that elite athletes rise to the occasion. Aung La was somewhat of a mystery package when he signed on with One Championship in 2014, a journeyman fighter who had been competitive without exactly setting the world on fire. Back home in Asia, the Myitkyina-born fighter found his groove – and carved his name into the annals of Burmese sporting history when he dusted himself off against the back then-seemingly impregnable Russian Vitaly Bigdash (10-2) to claim One’s middleweight crown. It was awe-inspiring as has been the work Aung La has put in since under the direction of the team at Sanford MMA (formerly Hard Knocks 365). Doubters might point to a thinness in One’s ranks up in the heavier divisions but you can’t do more than beat what’s there in front of you and Aung La – who’s 11-1 with One – grows more fearsome with each contest. Take the demolition job he dished out over two rounds to the veteran – and One heavyweight champ – Brandon “The Truth” Vera (16-8, 1 NC) in defending the promotion’s light heavyweight crown. We’re not betting against the big man any time soon. Next fight: N/A 8. Li “The Leech” Jingliang (UFC) Age: 31. Country: China. Record: 17-5. Weight class: Welterweight Strange to think that Li is the grand old man of Chinese MMA and yet he’s still only 31 years old. Back in the day, The Leech helped chart a new course for MMA in mainland China by mixing it up in the Hong Kong-based Legend FC’s first incarnation. Who was to know so many future global stars would emerge from those cards, among them former UFC welterweight champ Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker (20-5) and Li, who rose to be the promotion’s welterweight champ. The UFC saw the potential and no doubt had an eye on the Chinese market and the future. Li was signed in 2014 and is now 9-3 overall with the UFC and 7-1 in his past eight bouts. The China Top Team stalwart’s natural inclination is to stand and let rip, a habit that in the past has landed him in trouble, results-wise, but has endeared him to fight fans across the globe. That Li is now lurking around the edges of the UFC’s top-15, in a division staked with brilliance, speaks volumes for where he’s at now. Last time out – a third-round TKO of the tricky Elizeu “ Capoeira” Zaleski (21-6) – showed a more mature Li, still thrilling to watch but also now more focused on his cage craft. Word now is that we’ll next see The Leech in action against the 15th-ranked American Neil Magny (21-7) on the UFC 248 card in March which also features UFC strawweight champ Zhang “Magnum” Weili (20-1). Next fight: vs Neil Magny (21-7), UFC 248, Las Vegas, March 7 (Note: not officially announced). View this post on Instagram 26歳になりました！ 盛りあげるよ、日本の格闘技！ A post shared by 朝倉 海 Kai Asakura (@kai_asakura_) on Oct 30, 2019 at 5:47pm PDT 7. Kai Asakura (Rizin) Age: 26. Country: Japan. Record: 14-1. Weight class: Bantamweight The buzz continues to build around the Aichi-raised bantamweight who ends the year with a title shot in Tokyo as the Japanese capital comes to a halt for its annual New Year’s Eve fight fest. It’s little wonder given Asakura’s exploits across 2019. The 26-year-old dismantled a legend when he needed just 68 seconds to knockout the great Kyoji Horiguchi (28-3), for so long considered the “greatest fighter not in the UFC”. Not content with that little addition to his career highlight reel, Asakura then took on Yuta “Ulka” Sasaki (22-8-2), ex of the UFC. He duly broke the dude’s jaw at or around 54 seconds of the first. The only blemish on the man’s so-far stellar career came with a KO by South Korean Jae Hoon Moon (10-13) back in 2017 that seems pretty much for certain on reflection to be a classic lucky punch. Asakura left himself wide open on that occasion – and he paid for his sins. The Japanese fighter has since kept a lid on any overconfidence – mostly – as he seeks to build his own legacy in the sport. We expect nothing less than a title win on December 31 – and for the Asakura bandwagon to gather momentum across 2020. Next fight: vs Manel “Progidio” Kape (14-4), Rizin 20, Tokyo, December 31 6. Christian “The Warrior” Lee (One Championship) Age: 21. Country: Singapore. Record: 13-3. Weight: Lightweight Ridiculously talented. Ridiculously young. The spotlight had always previously shone more brightly on sister Angela “Unstoppable” Lee (10-2) thanks to her history-making One Championship atomweight title and the fact that she has been the poster girl for the rise of MMA in Asia. But there was little bro Christian throwing himself at anything and telling us for all the while that titles were his destiny. And so 2019 proved the time when the boy wonder truly became “the man”, as Lee displaced the legend that is Shinya ““Tobikan Judan”” Aoki (44-9, 1 NC) to grab One’s lightweight crown. He then stepped in at late notice and put on a master class in the final of One’s lightweight grand prix tournament. The doubters coming in had claimed Saygid Guseyn “Dagi” Arslanaliev’s (8-2) power would be too much for the upstart, given the Russian was coming off three straight first-round knockouts. Meh. Lee on that night looked to have fully and finally ascended into the sport’s top echelon. Working – tirelessly – with sister Angela and father Ken has rounded out a skill set built on the mystic arts of pankration. With two of Lee’s three losses coming at the hands of One featherweight champ Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen (13-3), a third instalment of that particular rivalry is a must-do for the One brains trust. In the meantime, did we mention Lee is only 21? Next fight: N/A

Top 20 Asian MMA fighters for 2020, part 3: Aung La N Sang, UFC’s Song Yadong feature in Nos 10-6

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} One Championship stars ‘The Burmese Python’ and Christian Lee crack our top 10 ‘Kung Fu Monkey’ and Li ‘The Leech’ Jingliang represent the UFC on the Post’s list

10. Song “Kung Fu Monkey” Yadong (UFC)

One Championship stars ‘The Burmese Python’ and Christian Lee crack our top 10

‘Kung Fu Monkey’ and Li ‘The Leech’ Jingliang represent the UFC on the Post’s list