Unbeaten middleweight MMA monster Shamil Erdogan has made no bones about what he wants to achieve in ONE Championship – and that’s World Champion status.
The 10-0 talent has dominated the opposition in both of his outings so far in ONE, with his second and most impressive win coming against former two-weight king Aung La N Sang at ONE 168: Denver this past Saturday, 7th September.
Erdogan scored a second-round TKO victory over his veteran in what was set to be his most difficult assignment yet, and his overall showing from start to finish caught the attention of ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Sityodtong was shocked at how easily the Turkish star overcame “The Burmese Python,” although he referenced his wrestling win over three-weight ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin when speaking about his dominant form.
“He’s an absolute beast and obviously undefeated in MMA, 10-0. And I believe he was a world champion in wrestling, but also he defeated Anatoly in wrestling way back when they were in the national circuit in Russia. But Shamil looked unbelievable tonight. No one has dominated Aung La that way,” Sityodtong said.
“It looked like there were two different levels, you know. No disrespect to Aung La because he’s obviously a legend in the sport, but I talked to him earlier this week, and Aung La said, ‘Chatri, you’re going to see the best version of myself, I’m confident, I’m ready to go.’ He thought he was going to get the knockout for sure.”
It may only have been Erdogan’s sophomore appearance in the world’s largest martial arts organization, but running through Aung La N Sang in unrelenting fashion was more than enough to put the entire middleweight MMA division on notice.
“The Burmese Python” entered the Circle at ONE 168 on a three-fight winning streak, but Erdogan’s focus on taking a huge step towards challenging Malykhin for the gold powered him through.
The prolific finisher has previously stated he feels a fight between him and “Sladkiy” is inevitable, and his showing in Denver, Colorado, now makes that more likely than ever.
For now, though, he will have to wait, as Malykhin is busy preparing for his first defence of the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title against “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane at ONE 169: Atlanta on 9th November.
