“Why can’t it be me?” - Burmese legend Aung La N Sang proud to have paved the way for his nation’s new generation of fighters

Myanmar is on an upward trajectory in the world of MMA, but one man remains the country's benchmark - Aung La N Sang.

The Burmese legend is arguably the greatest combat sports athlete from the Southeast Asian country and the one who practically introduced Myanmar to the wider MMA realm.

In an interview with Combat Sports Today, Aung La said he's glad to have paved the way for the new generation of Burmese MMA fighters while still competing at the sport's highest level.

Aung La added that he never wanted to wait for anyone to start the revolution, so he marched head-on and built the road for his fellow Burmese fighters.

"It’s cool, but I also think why can’t it be me? Why does it have to be all these guys, why can’t it be me? And because I did that, there’s a lot more younger guys that are going to think like that too," said Aung La N Sang.

'The Burmese Python' started his MMA career in 2005 and competed across multiple organizations in the United States.

In 2014, Aung La signed with ONE Championship where he grew into legendary status.

Aung La captured the ONE middleweight MMA world title when he outclassed Vitaly Bigdash in June 2017 in front of a rabid hometown crowd in Yangon.

He then reached champ-champ status in February 2018 when he knocked out Alexandre Machado for the ONE light heavyweight MMA world title in Myanmar's capital city.

Aung La now returns to action when he faces Shamil Gasanov in a middleweight MMA matchup at the stacked ONE 171: Qatar card on February 20 at Lusail Sports Arena.

Tickets for ONE 171 are available at Q-Tickets.

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Aung La N Sang says MMA will always be part of his life

Aung La N Sang knows the imminent promise of retirement will never be escaped, yet he believes he'll always be within the MMA realm even after he hangs up the gloves.

In the same interview with Combat Sports Today, Aung La said he'll always be at Kill Cliff FC training and helping the younger fighters hone their craft.

He said:

"I’m in camp, I still feel good, you know? And then right after the fight, I’m gonna help the next guys in the gym, training with them, working with them. This is my life, you know? We keep that routine going, we don’t deviate from the routine. So it’s good. Life is good."

Watch Aung La's entire interview below: