One Championship: Aung La N Sang vows to put Vitaly Bigdash to sleep – ‘I just have to touch him’
- One’s middleweight champ says he’s ‘a different fighter’ from 2017 when they shared a victory apiece, both unanimous decisions
- ‘The Burmese Python’ also warns undefeated Reinier de Ridder ‘it’s gonna happen’ in 2020 after Dutchman calls him out
Aung La N Sang has just welcomed the birth of his second child, and first daughter, with his wife in Florida. But the celebrations have to be put on hold a little bit as he gets back to business with One Championship.
“I don’t know about living the dream. We’re putting in that work so I can put on a good performance,” One’s middleweight and light heavyweight champion told the Post from Florida.
“The Burmese Python” will defend his middleweight belt against Vitaly Bigdash (10-2) – the man he beat to claim the title in June 2017 – in what will be a trilogy rubber match at One: Infinity 1 in Jakarta on April 10.
The choice of opponent was perhaps a little surprising – Aung La (26-10) looked set to defend against Reinier de Ridder (12-0), after the undefeated Dutchman dispatched Leandro Ataides by unanimous decision in Indonesia earlier this month, in what was essentially a bout to determine the No 1 contender.
“Yeah, they were gonna send me the contract for Reinier, I was gonna sign it, but they said Reinier injured his knee, it got bummed or whatever. Then I see him on Instagram jumping out of the pool, it can’t be that bad,” Aung La said, laughing. “Opponents change all the time. I’m not really worried. I’m ready to fight anybody and everybody.”
Could we still see Aung La and De Ridder clash down the line? “Oh for sure, it’s gonna happen,” said the champ, who successfully defended his light heavyweight title against Brandon Vera in Tokyo last August.