(CCTV) — Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is the fastest growing sport in the world. Using a combination of Olympics sports – such as boxing, Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai (to name but a few) – MMA fighters are among the most well conditioned and skilled athletes.
It takes years of dedication and intense training to become a world champion.
Take 32-year-old MMA fighter Aung La N Sung, for example. The aptly named ‘Burmese Python’ from Myanmar’s motto is “life is a fight.”
He certainly put his country on the map when it comes to his sporting success, but it’s not been without serious commitment – both mental and physical.
“A champion is somebody that never gives up. A champion is somebody that gets back up when you’re knocked down. A champion is somebody that doesn’t make excuses and works hard and grinds forward on what he wants to achieve,” says Aung La.
“The legacy that I want to leave is as a world champion, the legacy that directs and shows other people that with hard work, anything is possible. With faith and hard work, anything is possible.”
For MMA fighters wanting to become world champions, the daily training ritual is relentless.
“A typical day would start with me doing morning strength and conditioning. Then I go to my morning practice from 10am to 1pm and then I would come home, get something to eat, relax. I would be back at my gym, teaching kids’ classes, and a couple of adult classes. After a teaching class, I would go back, and I would try some more,” says Aung La.
Such devotion should stand him in good stead when he takes on undefeated ONE Middleweight World Champion Vitaly Bigdash in an upcoming fight.
Aung La is firmly set on knocking the Russian titleholder off the top spot.
The two elite athletes first met in January this year, when Bigdash broke Aung La’s four-fight winning streak. This time, Aung La will be fighting on home turf. Mixed Martial Arts old-timer Rich Franklin says contrary to popular belief, fighting in front of a home crowd can be a diversion.
“On the stage when he’s under a spotlight and all you can see is just a couple of feet around that actor, that’s how you feel when in the cage. And the only thing you can hear, no matter how much noise is going on in the arena, the only thing you can hear is your coaches’ voices because you’re trained to hone in on that stuff. So, I never really view fighting in hometown as a big advantage, actually I personally think it’s a distraction,” says retired Mixed Martial Artist, Franklin.
The epic title rematch will take place on June 30 at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.