Get hyped for fight week with a Reinier de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash ONE 159 main event preview

The Asian martial arts organization returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium with a massive main event featuring two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder. On July 22, he faces Russian juggernaut Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 with the ONE middleweight world title up for grabs.

Leading up to the bout, ONE Championship gave us a preview of the middleweight showdown in a video uploaded to the promotion’s YouTube channel. The video has the caption:

“Preview the colossal ONE Middleweight World Title showdown between reigning two-division king Reinier de Ridder and Russian powerhouse Vitaly Bigdash in the main event of ONE 159 on July 22!”

‘The Dutch Knight’ will step into the circle not just to keep one of his two world titles, but to maintain his undefeated record. At 15-0, de Ridder has never known defeat and aims to keep it that way against arguably his toughest opponent yet.

Meeting him in the middle is Vitaly Bigdash, a ONE Championship mainstay who is looking to regain the belt he lost over five years ago to rival Aung La N Sang. After completing his trilogy with ‘The Burmese Python’, Bigdash hopes to have ONE gold wrapped around his waist once more.

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Reinier de Ridder readies for his most well-rounded opponent yet in Vitaly Bigdash

Reinier de Ridder has looked practically unstoppable in his rise to ONE Championship glory. In 15 total fights, ‘The Dutch Knight’ boasts 10 wins via submission. Most of de Ridder’s wins inside the circle have come via submission, leading to one undeniable fact: when it goes to the ground, few can get it done like Reinier de Ridder can.

At ONE 159, the double-champ’s grappling will be put to the test against an opponent who is arguably the most well-rounded fighter to stand across from him. Vitaly Bigdash has a clear advantage on the feet, though that could be said for most of de Ridder’s opponents.

Bigdash poses an equal threat on the ground as he does on the feet. Half of Bigdash’s career victories have come via submission, showing that the fighter can hold his own when the fight goes to the ground. It’s almost a forgone conclusion that this fight will end up on the ground, but considering the strength of both fighters, the likeliest scenario is that whoever ends up on top will win the fight.

The general consensus seems to be that 'The Dutch Knight' will walk out of ONE 159 with his 16th straight win, but don’t be too surprised if Bigdash shocks the MMA world with a stunning knockout or a sneaky submission.