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The walk felt familiar yet foreign, and 'The Burmese Python' Aung La N Sang couldn't shake the urge to put his four-ounce gloves back on.
Myanmar's greatest sports icon was inducted into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame during ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Sunday, Nov. 16, inside Tokyo's Ariake Arena.
The MMA veteran, however, admitted that hearing his signature walkout track while walking to the Circle without the intention of competing created a surreal emotional experience.
"It feels kind of like it's cool, but it feels kind of weird, you know? Yeah, as I was walking down, I was like, they play my song. I was like, I'm not fighting. It's kind of weird, but it's really cool, you know. It's really cool. I don't know. I'm like lost for words right now," the 40-year-old former two-division ONE world champion told Nick Atkin in an interview inside the Japanese capital.
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The ceremony took place during a brief intermission in the star-studded event, with ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong waiting inside the Circle to honor the Kill Cliff FC representative.
But as Aung La's walkout song 'Amae Like Akah' by Lay Phyu echoed through the arena – the same track that had accompanied him to countless battles over his legendary career – muscle memory took over.
"Yeah. So it's kind of, I don't know. It just, I was like, I almost felt like I wanted to fight. Yeah. But I wasn't going to fight," he continued, capturing the bittersweet moment of a warrior transitioning from competitor to legend.
The induction made Aung La N Sang only the third athlete enshrined in ONE Championship's Hall of Fame, joining fellow legends Demetrious Johnson and Bibiano Fernandes.
The honor came just over a month after his retirement fight – a second-round TKO victory over former ONE welterweight MMA world champion Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 36 this past October that earned him a US$50,000 performance bonus.
Watch Aung La N Sang's full interview with Nick Atkin here:
Aung La N Sang delivers inspirational farewell speech at ONE 173
Shortly after being honored as a ONE Hall of Famer, Aung La N Sang showed nothing but gratitude for the promotion and fight fans for all the support he's received throughout his 12-year tenure with the world's largest martial arts organization.
"ONE Championship has been an incredible ride for me, and arigato to all my fans, especially my fans in Myanmar. Thank you for all the love and support, and my fans all over the world," he offered.
"I'm not gonna make a long speech because we've already done the speech over there, but thank you so much. You know, ONE Championship is about the love of martial arts, and let's just make this world a better place. One love, guys."
Fight fans who missed ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri can follow this link to secure their PPV replay passes.
