Henri Hooft believes Aung La N Sang will be back to his best. The former ONE double champion has not been himself as of late inside the Circle. With three defeats in his last four outings, ‘The Burmese Python’ finds himself further away from another possible stint as the middleweight or light heavyweight world champion.
However, Sanford MMA head coach Henri Hooft knows that defeats do not shape a warrior’s path. The Dutch kickboxer has faith that the 36-year-old martial arts icon will find himself in the winner’s column soon.
He took to Instagram a day after Aung La N Sang’s defeat to Vitaly Bigdash to share a short and meaningful message.
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Hooft had this to say about Aung La N Sang:
“Proud to be with this MAN a FIGHTER… father and role model for many people around the world!! @aunglansang is more [than] a fighter. As a trainer and fighter we win and we lose together. That's the PATH we choose…..we keep on charging and we will be back!!! @sanfordmma.”
'The Burmese Python' has been working with the former Dutch kickboxer since early 2018. Under the watchful eyes of Hooft at Sanford MMA, the Burmese fighter has picked up six wins and three defeats. All of his wins have come by way of knockout.
Watch Aung La N Sang's reaction backstage after his loss to Vitaly Bigdash in the clip below:
With Aung La N Sang out of the picture, is Vitaly Bigdash the favorite for the middleweight gold?
The Aung La-Bigdash feud is one of the most epic rivalries in the history of ONE. Prior to Bigdash’s latest win, the pair were tied at one apiece, having met on two occasions in 2017.
They gave it their all throughout the 10 rounds they shared almost five years ago. At ONE: Full Circle, it was another close contest between the two former middleweight kings.
Unfortunately for the Myanmar martial artist, Bigdash was the sharper of the two. He connected with more volume in the striking department. He was also more decisive when the contest took place on the canvas.
Bigdash’s triumph over ‘The Burmese Python’ should place him as a favorite to challenge Reinier de Ridder for the ONE middleweight world title. De Ridder himself returned to the Circle with another dominant performance against Kiamrian Abbasov in the main event of ONE: Full Circle on February 25.