Nsang-Ngalani fight heats up in Yangon as One Championship steps in to douse social media fires
Organisers dismiss fears the Cameroon-born Hongkonger will pull out of fight because of illness amid threats from Aung La Nsang’s supporters
One Championship world middleweight champion Aung La Nsang has issued an impassioned plea for calm after threats were aimed at Hong Kong’s Alain Ngalani before their bout here in Yangon on Friday night.
The Burmese star said his followers should “leave us to do the hurting in the cage”.
“I hope no one is taking this to the extreme,” said Nsang. “It’s a sport. Alain is a working man, an athlete, and we need to respect that and respect him.”
Myanmar’s first-ever world mixed martial arts champion, Nsang’s rise from the ranks of the unknowns has captured hearts across this nation of around 53 million people.
Sources close to organisers said fans of the Burmese Python had used social media to call the bout “unfair” given the weight difference between the pair, and had directly threatened Ngalani should things not go the way of their hero, or should Nsang get hurt.
Ngalani, meanwhile, was busy attending his official pre-fight medical tests on Tuesday while also dealing with a flu bug.