"I respect that he came in" - Aung La N Sang on Reinier de Ridder training sessions

Aung La N Sang was recently visited by Reinier de Ridder at Sanford MMA and the two were able to have training sessions together.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Aung La said that he enjoyed the experience and respects De Ridder for coming by to train with him.

‘The Burmese Python’ said:

“It was good. He was on a vacation with his kids and his family, got to meet his wife. So it’s nice, we’re all humans, we’re all trying to make a better future for our family and I respect that he came in and trained with us. Nothing but respect.”

De Ridder went on a training tour in the United States over the past month. He rolled with Adriano Moraes and Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida at American Top Team before heading over to Texas to grapple with Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon, among others. However, his first stop was at his former rival’s home gym in Sanford MMA.

Aung La N Sang lost both the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles to Reinier de Ridder in consecutive bouts in 2020 and 2021. Despite their history, the 36-year-old said there was no animosity at all when they trained together, much like his other rivals who came to train with him. He added:

“No, there’s no issue with Brandon Vera and Alain [Ngalani] coming to me to Sanford, so there shouldn’t be an issue. It’s okay. At the end of the day, we’re just martial artists trying to provide a living for our family while putting on entertainment for the fans. If we do end up fighting again, I know you’re gonna see a good fight for sure,” he said.

Watch the full interview below:

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Aung La N Sang wants to get back on track

It’s been a tough couple of years for Aung La N Sang. After winning seven straight bouts on his way to world titles in two divisions, he has only won one of his last four contests.

He rebounded from his twin losses to Reinier de Ridder by knocking out Leandro Ataides in July 2021. Earlier this year, Aung La finally got the chance to settle his trilogy with Vitaly Bigdash. Unfortunately, he faced another setback, pushing him further away from a world title opportunity.

Aung La N Sang knows what he needs to do in order to get back on track and he intends to focus on those in the coming months. He said:

“I gotta win man, I gotta get back to my winning ways. I’m tired of losing, man. Focus on just being healthy. If I’m healthy and I’m on point, I know I can finish any middleweight in the world. If I’m healthy and in shape, I shouldn’t have any problem against anybody, but I need to get healthy and make sure that everything’s on point as far as training goes.”