“I just need to be there in this corner” - Aung La N Sang believes Tial Thang can overcome his recent slump in the circle

Aung La N Sang believes Tial Thang is much better than what his last two appearances inside the circle suggest. The former two-division ONE world champion promises to be by his compatriot’s side when he takes on dangerous striker Jeremy Pacatiw on the main card of ONE 164: Pacio vs. Brooks. The promising bantamweight clash will take place on December 3 inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

Tial, who started his MMA career blazing hot with three straight victories, has figured in two disappointing endings in his last two outings. The 28-year-old was able to dispatch more experienced fighters Rin Saroth, Kim Woon Kyoum, and Paul Lumihi and was bound to break through into the top 5 at 145 lbs. However, his momentum was stopped by Song Min Jong last year.

As far as Aung La is concerned, Tial Thang should have been the one awarded the unanimous decision win in that closely-contested three-round war. ‘The Burmese Python’ said so in an interview with Tom Taylor of SCMP MMA:

“If you look at Tial, he had three relatively good fights. When I say good fights, he's matched up against guys with more fights than him. And then his fourth fight, he goes against like a former Road FC champion [Song Min Jong], [with] close to 20 fights. In my opinion, he won the fight, but it's controversial.”

With redemption on his mind, a fired-up Tial Thang was eager to start a new winning streak in his last outing against Sunoto at ONE: Bad Blood this past February. The Burmese fighter was getting the better of the exchanges, up until he was called for a low blow following knees from the clinch. Once the fight resumed, ‘The Dragon Leg’ once again hit Sunoto low, and the fight was stopped after the Indonesian was unable to continue.

Here’s the full fight, which unfortunately ended in a no-contest:

Aung La, meanwhile, is convinced that his Kill Cliff MMA teammate will get out of the funk he’s currently in, especially with him guiding the way:

“And then the next fight with Sunoto [Peringkat], who also has like about 20 fights, [Tial] only has four fights and it went to a no-contest because of the low blow. So he's been in a, I don't know. I just need to be there in this corner for the next fight. And he'll do alright.”

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Jeremy Pacatiw will also be looking for redemption against Tial Thang

Tial Thang is not the only one seeking vengeance at ONE 164. The fighter that will be standing across the circle from him, Jeremy Pacatiw, is also eager to get back on the winning track after suffering the worst loss of his career in his last outing.

A rising star coming from the fabled Team Lakay ranks, ‘The Juggernaut’ had a debut to remember when he bested Chen Rui last year. Pacatiw, who has 10 career victories in 15 professional fights, took on the current No.1-ranked bantamweight Fabricio Andrade next at ONE: Full Circle last February.

The 26-year-old Filipino managed to land some impressive blows against ‘Wonder Boy’ but eventually succumbed to a powerful body blow in round one. A win against the slumping Tial Thang will no doubt point him back in the right direction in ONE’s crowded bantamweight division.