Undefeated MMA star Shamil Erdogan has made a name for himself thanks to his wrestling prowess, but he wants to remind the world he has more than one trick in his bag when he returns to the ONE Championship Circle at ONE: Denver.
The Turkish talent is set to meet former two-weight ONE MMA World Champion Aung La N Sang in a middleweight battle at the Saturday, 7th September, event inside Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
He’ll be hoping to make it two from two in the world's largest martial arts organization, after running rampant on Chinese powerhouse Fan Rong en route to a second-round finish at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June 2023.
Erodgan has evolved his game further in the year since, and he’s ready to showcase what he’s been working on against “The Burmese Python.”
“I will fight him both in stand-up and in wrestling. There will be no ‘just wrestling.’ I’ve been spending a lot of time on my striking technique lately, and I want to show what I’ve learned,” he said.
“I don’t think the fight will last three rounds. Inshallah, I’ll take him down in the second round. I plan to finish the fight in the stand-up as I need the bonus. I want to ask Mr. Chatri to be ready. I’ll KO him for the bonus.”
Aung La N Sang represents a notable step-up in competition for the man who currently boasts a perfect 9-0 professional slate. After all, he's a former ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Champion and is currently riding an impressive three-fight winning streak.
However, for Erdogan, a win over a ONE Championship legend like Aung La N Sang will mean little. He’s treating him as a stepping stone to the man he really wants to face: three-sport ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Erdogan crossed paths with the Russian superstar many moons ago and became one of few men to defeat Malykhin on the wrestling mats.
With that victory still in his mind, he has grand designs on becoming the first fighter to put a dent in “Sladkiy’s” MMA record.
“Defeating him means nothing to me. It’s just another obstacle to something bigger. I hope to get a fight for the ONE belt soon after this one,” Erdogan bluntly stated.
“Anatoly Malykhin, I have a good relationship with him, and I know him from the times when we competed in freestyle wrestling. But he is now the champion in my weight class, and if it stays this way, our fight will be inevitable.”
