Aung La N Sang Believes He’ll Finish Brandon Vera Inside Three Rounds
Aung La N Sang is currently gearing up for the biggest bout of his career. On October 13th, the ONE Championship two division champion will defend his light heavyweight title against the heavyweight champion Brandon Vera, at ONE: Century.
The historic card will be ONE’s 100th event and will feature two cards in one epic day. The first card will consist of eleven bouts in the morning and will be headlined by Angela Lee’s defence of her ONE atomweight title, against the ONE strawweight champion, Xiong Jing Nan. The second card will go down on the same day, in the evening, and will be headlined by N Sang vs Vera.
And as the Myanmar superstar told MMA Junkie, he is honoured to headline the biggest card in ONE history.
“It’s a big honour. You’ve got the lightweight tournament, you’ve got the flyweight tournament, and they’re ending the whole event with me and Brandon Vera. It’s a big honour for me, and I’m super excited, and that’s why I’m doing everything I can to put on a great show.”
And the fact that he is facing someone he has always been a big fan of for many years, is extra motivation for N Sang.
“I know Brandon Vera. He trained with Lloyd Irvin, and I used to train with Lloyd Irvin, as well. I’ve always been a fan of his, and for me to be able to fight somebody that I used to look up to is an honour, and it shows you how far you can go in this sport if you dedicate your time to it.
“It’s a great time because Brandon Vera has been the most dominant champion in the heavyweight division in ONE Championship and for me to be able to compete against him, it motivates me a lot.”
Despite the fact N Sang will be going up against the ONE heavyweight champ, the 34 year old believes that come fight night, they will weigh around the same.
“The night of the fight, we should be around the same size. Since my last fight, I’ve been getting ready for this one. I’ve been pretty smart about it. I’ve gained good, healthy weight. I might be a few pounds lighter than him, but in the fight, the power difference is not going to be a factor. I can guarantee that.”
As you can imagine, being the double champion, Aung La is loving life in ONE Championship. Not only for what he has achieved inside the cage, but also for the way the promotion promote the sport of mixed martial arts. ‘The Burmese Python’ is so happy with the promotion, he has just signed a new ten bout deal.
“I believe in ONE Championship, and I believe that they do it differently from other promotions. They want to mainstream martial arts in a different approach than other organisations do like the UFC. They’re about martial arts. They’re about respect and they’re more about uplifting human values than selling fights. And with that core, as a father and a family man, it’s something that I can live with, and it’s something that I don’t mind my son watching and consuming that product.
“For me, I believe in what ONE Championship is selling, and for me to sign another ten fight deal was pretty easy.”
Going back to his main event next month in Tokyo, N Sang predicts that he will end the bout within the first three rounds.
“I always look for a finish. I don’t intend for this match to go to a decision. If you watch my matches, out of my 25 wins, 23 are by finish. In my core, I like to fight. In my heart, I’m going to finish him within three rounds.”
ONE: Century goes down on October 13th, at the Ry?goku Kokugikan, in Tokyo, Japan.
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