Cage veteran Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang choked out Egypt’s Mohamed Ali in the first round of their ONE Championship main event middleweight bout to the delight of a home crowd in Yangon, Myanmar, on Friday night.
After a cagey beginning to the round, Ali caught a kick by the US-based Burmese and took him down, but hesitated to engage him on the ground and was ultimately unable to capitalize, as referee Yuji Shimada separated the fighters before he was able to initiate his ground-and-pound.
However, he was then able to walk Aung La N Sang down to the cage, where he landed a series of thumping right hooks and uppercuts in the clinch.
Photo: One Championship
Aung La N Sang attempted a standing guillotine and dragged the Egyptian to the canvas, but Ali was able to maneuver to take top position in the Burmese fighter’s butterfly guard. Aung La N Sang swept Ali to reverse the position, but the Egyptian scrambled out of it and both fighters managed to get to their feet, with the Burmese catching Ali with a head kick as he did.
Ali then attempted a single-leg takedown, but Aung La N Sang sank a guillotine choke for the tapout at 2 minutes, 38 seconds.
Aung La N Sang called out ONE middleweight champion Vitaly Bigdash in his post-fight interview.
“We did it guys, we did it,” he said. “Bigdash, you have my belt. We want that belt.”
The win improves Aung La N Sang’s record to 17-9-0, while Ali’s fell to 10-8-0.
In the other main event, former ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes of Brazil survived a scare to choke out the Philippines’ Eugene Toquero and keep his comeback on track.
Toquero started strong, landing a solid straight left soon after the opening bell. Moraes responded with his first takedown of the night, but Toquero was able to take top and land sharp elbows to the Brazilian’s head before making it to his feet.
Toquero then staggered Moraes with a flying knee that turned his legs to jelly and followed with a barrage of punches.
Moraes was able to neutralize Toquero’s onslaught by managing another takedown, but by the time the fighters had regained their feet, a huge contusion had formed over Moraes’ right eye.
Toquero requested a timeout for doctors to examine his opponent’s eye, which referee Olivier Coste granted.
The fight was allowed to continue, and unfortunately for Toquero, the timeout allowed Moraes to recover. Moraes quickly landed a takedown and finished the fight with an arm-triangle choke at 4:53.
The win improved Moraes’ record to 14-2-0, while Toquero fell to 8-3-0.
On the undercard, Singapore’s Christian Lee notched a technical knockout victory over the Netherlands’ Anthony Engelen.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38