“The stakes are very high“ - Chatri Sityodtong plays up the clash between legends Yushin Okami and Aung La N Sang

Former two-division world champion Aung La N Sang has fallen on hard times as of late inside the circle, dropping three of his last four bouts, including back-to-back losses against reigning middleweight and light heavyweight titleholder Reinier de Ridder.

‘The Burmese Python’ will look to turn things around on November 19 when he returns to action as part of the promotion’s stacked ONE 163 lineup.

Aung La will face Japanese legend Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami in a bout that has been a long time coming for the two bona fide combat sports stars. After back-to-back losses under the ONE Championship banner, Okami scored a much-needed win over Agilan Thani at ONE: Century Part 1.

More than three years later, ‘Thunder’ returns to the circle for a true legend’s showcase that has everyone excited, including ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Discussing his thoughts on the highly-anticipated matchup, Sityodtong believes both fighters will have something to prove against one another.

“I think this fight is a very interesting fight for fans all over the world, but in particular, our Japanese fans. I think the big question is Aung La has had a few losses. He has messaged me often that he fixed all the holes in his game. And he wants to climb back to the top of the world again.”

Sityodtong also spoke about the inactivity of Okami, saying:

“And then you have Yushin who is obviously one of the greatest from Japan. And he has been inactive. Not his fault. It was because of COVID-19 and his opponent Leandro Ataides had COVID last time. And Yushin had a lot of questions, you know? Is he past his prime? Will he have another shot at glory? So the stakes are very high for this fight for both fighters.”

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Yushin Okami always intended to fight Aung La N Sang inside the circle

Sharing his excitement for sharing the circle with fellow Asian MMA icon Aung La N Sang, Yushin Okami revealed that he always intended on squaring off with ‘The Burmese Python’ despite the fact that the two warriors regularly compete under different weight classes.

Appearing at a Tokyo press conference to promote ONE 163, Okami said:

“I have been fighting at welterweight in ONE, but what I left out and what I wanted to do in ONE was to fight Aung La N Sang who won two weight classes as an Asian.”

‘Thunder’ then revealed that he agreed to move up to middleweight in order to make the dream match happen.

“I have watched him closely, respected him, and thought he was great. I moved up to middleweight to fight him. I thought this was the best thing to do in ONE. I asked on social media, and Aung La N Sang and Chatri eventually agreed to set up the fight”.