Aung La N Sang says "more urgency" will be needed to unsettle Shamil Erdogan at ONE 171: "I gotta match his pace"

Following his second-round TKO loss in their first fight at ONE 168: Denver last September 2024, former two-division MMA world champion Aung La N Sang has identified his biggest adjustment against Shamil Erdogan for their rerun.

The Myanmar sporting icon and Erdogan are booked to face each other for the second time on Feb. 20 at ONE 171: Qatar card inside the Lusail Sports Arena, and the former shared his thoughts about the match in a recent interview with The Bangkok Post.

According to 'The Burmese Python,' he should have more urgency against Erdogan and rival his pace to have a better chance of avenging his defeat by saying:

"Yeah, I've game-planned and strategized for this fight. I fight with more urgency and at a higher pace. I gotta match his pace."

Watch Aung La N Sang's full interview here:

Before losing to the Turkish contender, Aung La N Sang was on a hot three-fight win streak with victories over Yushin Okami in November 2022 at ONE 163, Gilberto Galvao in January 2023 at ONE Fight Night 6, and Fan Rong in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10.

---

Aung La N Sang lays down the difference of fighting in today's era of MMA than before

The Kill Cliff representative also mentioned the major difference of fighters whom he competed against before than the ones who are emerging contenders today.

According to him, athletes nowadays are more well-rounded compared to the old generation who had their own specialties in certain disciplines.

Aung La N Sang shared this thought with the Bangkok Post:

"I don't know. But this is probably my last ride. This is my 20th year fighting and I've seen the evolution of fighters. Now we have guys like Shamil who are Olympic wrestlers who can strike, who can do everything. We're in a different age now."

Fans can watch all the action at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20 via watch.onefc.com. The exciting card goes down inside the Lusail Sports Arena.