One Light Heavyweight World Championship: Myanmar’s Aung La beats Brandon Vera, defends world championship belt
Aung La N Sang has defeated challenger Brandon Vera via technical knockout in the second round of their fight at the One Century mixed martial arts (MMA) competition in Tokyo on Sunday, successfully defending his One Light Heavyweight World Championship belt.
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Aung La, 34, added an additional win to his MMA record of 25 wins and 10 losses after knocking Vera to his feet and pummelling the 42-year-old .
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“That was fun,” the Burmese Python said right after the fight. The Kachin-born fighter also thanked his team and father, who joined Aung La in the cage after the win, for his success.
To the scores of Myanmar fans who supported him in the stadium as well as back home, Aung La said: “I could hear the fans chanting my name and cheering me on. That gave me support and strength during the fight.”
Before Sunday, Aung La told The Myanmar Times that Vera would be his biggest opponent in terms of range, strength and size yet. “He is also taller and has the power to execute a knock-out. But I trained with guys that would make Brandon look small, so I was prepared for the fight,” Aung La told The Myanmar Times.
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Fans take photos with Aung La after his victory over Brandon Vera at Tokyo’s ONE:Century event.
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Aung La was challenged in the cage by Vera shortly after successfully defending his middleweight belt for the third time against Ken Hasegawa in March. “I accepted the challenge because I’m a big fan of Vera’s and it would be an honour to fight him,” Aung La said.
Aung La and Vera are in fact friends outside the cage. “Vera has actually always been my idol,” he said, adding that “martial arts is about mutual respect. Inside the cage we see each other as worthy opponents. At the end of the day, we are just doing this for ourselves and our families.”
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So what’s next? “Middleweight,” the Burmese Python said. “There are a lot of interesting middleweight fighters coming up so just line them up. I’m ready.”
Over the longer term though, Aung La has more ambitious plans. “I’ve been fighting since I was 19. This is what I love to do. My goal is to be the most dominant fighter in One and make Myanmar proud.”
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