"There were some technique gaps in that fight" - Vitaly Bigdash thinks Aung La N Sang worked on weaknesses for their next fight

Vitaly Bigdash will finally have the chance to break his tie with Aung La N Sang at ONE: Full Circle on February 25.

Despite being on different paths in their careers, Bigdash made it known that he has been watching Aung La’s journey over the years. During their faceoff interview ahead of the event, he revealed that Myanmar’s pride showed some vulnerabilities in his fight against Reinier de Ridder.

“I saw those weaknesses during the fight with Reinier (de Ridder). There were some technique gaps in that fight, but I’m pretty sure he’s worked on them, but I’m not sure if he’ll become better on that side or not. We’ll see on the fight. But yeah, I believe he worked on them.”

Vitaly Bigdash is no stranger to witnessing how Aung La improves the holes in his game.

The Russian warrior won his first world title defense against Myanmar’s pride in January 2017’s ONE: Quest for Power. Five months later, he was on the other side of the judges’ scorecards as he relinquished the crown to a much improved and better prepared Aung La.

Since then, ‘The Burmese Python’ went on to crush his next six opponents before dropping both his world titles against Reinier de Ridder.

Bigdash clearly saw some cracks in Aung La’s armor in those twin losses. Following his victory over Fan Rong in December 2021’s ONE: Winter Warriors II, Bigdash took the chance to call out his rival and finish what they started almost five years ago.

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Aung La N Sang believes Vitaly Bigdash’s assessment is fair

During the faceoff interview, Aung La N Sang had a chance to respond to Vitaly Bigdash’s comments. The humble warrior accepted his shortcomings and even praised his upcoming opponent’s capabilities.

“No, it’s a good assessment, and I’ve made big improvements there, at least in my opinion. It’s something that I wasn’t really, I didn’t put in that time. Before moving down to Florida, I worked on my jiu-jitsu. I probably had a better chance at that time against Reinier, just because of the grappling side. I’m sure Vitaly would have done a better job against Reinier, but it is what it is, and we keep growing, and we keep getting better,” Aung La said.

Growing and getting better are two things that Aung La has consistently displayed in the Circle. In July 2021’s ONE: Battleground, Aung La got back on the winning track by coming out like a man on a mission, knocking out former world title contender Leandro Ataides in the first round of their matchup.

On Friday, Aung La will look to show Bigdash the improvements he has made as they both work their way back into the world title conversation.