“I got him a little earlier than I thought” - Reinier de Ridder reflects on his electrifying victory over Vitaly Bigdash

Reinier de Ridder’s monstrous run of dominance keeps rolling on.

The two-division world champion retained the ONE middleweight world title after submitting Vitaly Bigdash in the main event of ONE 159, Friday, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. After a brief scare in the early going, De Ridder stole Bigdash’s consciousness via inverted triangle.

In what was another display of his grappling prowess, De Ridder separated the former middleweight world champion from his senses, which forced the referee to call a halt to the match at 3:29 of round one.

De Ridder, who also holds the ONE light heavyweight world title, admitted during his post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson that his win was quicker than he anticipated.

Nevertheless, the submission hold he used was born out of grueling sessions in his training camp at Combat Brothers in the Netherlands.

Reinier de Ridder said:

“I got him a little earlier than I thought, but I had to wear him out a bit. I thought it would be the second round, but I got him. This is a move that I did a lot in training. I’ll do a breakdown with you someday. Thank you guys, thank you to my corner, thanks to my people back home. Love you all. Thank you Mitch, thank you ONE, thank you [ONE Championship CEO] Chatri [Sityodtong].”

De Ridder, who now holds an immaculate 16-0 record, was nearly caught in Bigdash's guillotine choke in the first few exchanges, but successfully wriggled out of trouble to gain dominant position.

Bigdash had a brief moment on top but that proved to be false hope for the Russian star. Utilizing his amazing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, De Ridder quickly wrapped his legs around Bigdash’s neck to lock in the choke and successfully defend his ONE middleweight world title for the second straight time.

---

Reinier de Ridder calls out heavyweights Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin

Now with a perfect 7-0 run in ONE Championship, Reinier de Ridder once again made it known that he wants a third world title.

The two-division world champion said he intends to become the undisputed ONE heavyweight world champion and joked that he would be willing to face Anatoly Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar on the same evening.

Malykhin, the ONE interim heavyweight world champion, and Bhullar, the ONE heavyweight world champion, are expected to face each other in a unification bout later this year. De Ridder wants both next on the same night:

“I want them both on the same night. Let’s go! I’m ready, man.”