Rin Saroth, Kemp Cheng, Tial Thang

Training out of Hard Knocks 365, “The Dragon Leg” Tial Thang, 25, of Myanmar was one of the winners at “ONE: Reign of Valor.” It was the professional mixed martial arts debut and first ONE Championship bout of the protege of two-division champion Aung La N Sang, 33, of Myanmar.

Aung is simultaneously reigning as the ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion. He played a vital role in Thang’s training for his ONE Championship debut.

“ONE: Reign of Valor” featured nine MMA matches and five ONE Super Series contests, which are kickboxing bouts. In the eighth bout of the evening, Thang faced Rin Saroth, 25, of Cambodia in an MMA match at a catch weight of 68 kg with Kemp Cheng s the referee.

A four-time Chin State Wrestling Champion, Thang was dominant in his MMA debut as he outpointed Saroth. The Burmese contender put on a show in front of his home country as he dictated the pace in the striking department and showed off his elite-level grappling with a number of masterful takedowns.

After three exciting five-minute rounds, the bout was left in the hands of the judges. In the end, Cheng raised the hand of Thang, who was declared the winner via unanimous decision in front of a raucous crowd in Yangon.

Winning at “ONE: Reign of Valor” improved Thang’s professional MMA record to 1 win and 0 loss. On the other hand, Saroth now has 3 wins and 7 losses.

While Thang was one of the three hometown heroes who competed at “ONE: Reign of Valor,” Saroth was the sole representative of Cambodia. Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom were also represented.

Meanwhile, here is a clip featuring Thang and other Burmese ONE Championship athletes:

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