Shamil Erdogan confident he can dethrone Anatoly Malykhin from middleweight throne: “I’ll show you what I can do”

Shamil Erdogan believes he's the man to dethrone two-division titleholder Anatoly Malykhin.

Returning to the Circle at ONE 171: Qatar, Erdogan delivered another highlight-reel performance via a stunning 29-second head-kick KO over Myanmar superstar Aung La N Sang inside the Lusail Sports Arena.

It was Erdogan's second straight victory over 'The Burmese Python,' his first coming at ONE 168: Denver in September. The win moved Erdogan to 11-0 in his mixed martial arts career and 3-0 under the ONE Championship banner.

For his quick-fire finish, Erdogan scored himself a $50,000 performance bonus courtesy of ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Speaking with Mitch Chilson in the cage immediately following his victory, Erdogan expressed gratitude for the extra cash and made it clear that he's ready to take on the middleweight division's top dog, Anatoly Malykhin.

"Chatri, thank you very much," Erdogan said. "I’m very proud to be here. I love this promotion. Please, if you give me one more fight for the belt, I’ll show you what I can do."

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Shamil Erdogan hopes to see Aung La N Sang back inside the Circle

Despite holding back-to-back knockouts over Aung La N Sang, Shamil Erdogan was nothing but respectful to the former two-division world champion in his post-fight interview. Erdogan even expressed hope that 'The Burmese Python' would recover and continue to compete.

"My opponent is just a legend," Erdogan said in the Circle. "I hope he's gonna get one more fight. But the only problem is I was a bit of an uncomfortable opponent for him. But I hope he's gonna get another fight and he could go on and win."

With the loss Aung La N Sang fell to 15-6 in ONE and is sitting on back-to-back losses—both against Erdogan. Before that, he was sitting on a three-fight win streak with two knockouts and a submission win over Fan Rong.

Do you want to see Aung La N Sang give it another go later this year, or do you think it's time for the 39-year-old legend to lay down his gloves?

If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 171: Qatar replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.