Unbeaten Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star Shamil Erdoğan is putting the final touches on his preparations for a highly anticipated showdown against former two-division ONE champion Aung La N Sang this Saturday morning.
The 34-year-old has split his training camp between Russia's Dagestan, where he honed his skills at AMC and Khabib Nurmagomedov's Eagle Fighting Championship, and Thailand, where he sharpened his craft at Primal FC.
The decorated wrestler faces the Myanmar legend in a middleweight MMA fight at martial arts organization ONE Championship’s event ONE 168: Denver, which kicks off at 3:00 a.m. local time.
Erdoğan, whose nine-win streak in MMA includes six finishes, possesses an impressive and diverse skill set.
A former Olympic freestyle wrestler, he has enhanced his striking skills in recent years, complementing his strong ground game and eye for submission maneuvers.
The fighter, who was naturalized as Turkish and changed his surname to Erdoğan to represent the national wrestling team, will enter Colorado’s Ball Arena with a clean 9-0 MMA record, coming off a dominant promotional debut knockout win against Chinese opponent Fan Rong.
However, Erdoğan knows he faces a much tougher test in his second ONE Championship bout. His opponent is a former ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion with an overall record of 30-13.
Since joining ONE in 2016, the veteran has amassed a 15-4 record with impressive wins against former champions Brandon Vera, Vitaly Bigdash, and Alexandre Machado.
Erdoğan understands that beating the 39-year-old former two-division champion will boost his chances of earning a shot at the middleweight world title, currently held by three-division champion Anatoly Malykhin.
“He [Aung La N Sang] is one of the best. He has a legacy; he was a two-division champion in his time, and my hope is that a win over him will open the door for me to a championship belt,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan believes he will score a second-round knockout victory against his opponent and hopes to pick up a performance bonus from ONE CEO and Chairman Chatri Sityodtong.
“I don't think the fight will last three rounds. Inshallah, I'll take him down in the second round. I plan to finish the fight in the stand-up because I need the bonus. I want to ask Mr. Chatri to be ready; I'll KO him for the bonus,” Erdoğan said.
