ONE Championship’s Aung La N Sang is pound for pound ‘martial artist’ No 1, says Ali Abdelaziz

Ali Abdelaziz is expanding into Asia and bringing some of his free agents to ONE Championship. But it’s a fighter already on the Singapore-based promotion’s roster that he has the most admiration for.

“I have a lot of respect for Aung La N Sang,” the Dominance MMA Management CEO told SCMP MMA’s Post Fight. “I think he’s a great champion. He holds the promotion in such regard. I think he’s an example.

“If you chose one fighter out there, in the whole world, and said show an example of martial arts, it’s gonna be Aung. Aung is gonna be pound for pound the martial artist No 1 of my choice.”

“The Burmese Python” N Sang (26-10) is Asian martial arts organisation ONE’s middleweight and light heavyweight champion. He trains out of Sanford MMA in Florida with several of Abdelaziz’s high-profile clients including UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, No 1 welterweight contender Gilbert Burns, and former light heavyweight challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

The 35-year-old N Sang and Burns both contracted Covid-19, the latter having to drop out of the UFC 251 main event against Usman on Fight Island, but are back training after recovering from the virus.