“It’s going to be great to watch” - Lito Adiwang picks Reinier de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash winner

We are just days away from ONE 159 and the highly anticipated main event between undefeated two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder and Russian juggernaut Vitaly Bigdash.

Scheduled for five rounds for the ONE middleweight world championship, the world has been eagerly awaiting the battle between these two behemoths. ‘The Dutch Knight’ looks to keep his double champion status and undefeated recorded intact, while Bigdash aims to reclaim the title he lost more than five years ago.

Discussing the upcoming bout with ONE Championship, two-time Philippine National Wushu Champion and ONE strawweight Lito Adiwang said that he is expecting a really close contest. However, he ultimately gave de Ridder the narrow advantage owing to his elite-level grappling abilities.

“For me, this is a really close fight. I’ve watched both of their careers very closely. As a fan, it’s going to be great to watch. Vitaly Bigdash is the more explosive striker, for sure. But the ground game really is very tricky, and there Reinier de Ridder is just on another level.”

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Adiwang believes Reinier de Ridder will use the same game plan that he employed against Aung La N Sang

Reinier de Ridder won his middleweight world championship by defeating fan favorite Aung La N Sang at ONE: Inside the Matrix. Six months later, they met once again, this time for the light heavyweight world title that ‘The Burmese Python’ still held.

Coming into the bout on short notice, de Ridder scored a second-straight win over Aung La to become a two-division champion.

Lito Adiwang believes that ‘The Dutch Knight’ will fall back on a similar game plan to defeat the powerful Russian next Friday.

“I think all things considered, I’m giving the slight edge to Reinier de Ridder, based on his last few performances against Kiamrian Abbasov and Aung La N Sang. Aung La, in particular, is such a dangerous striker with one-punch knockout power. But de Ridder’s strategy was so smart that he was able to close the distance quickly and bring the fight to the ground.”

Adiwang reiterated his statement, saying that he believes Bigdash will attempt to keep the fight on the feet, but de Ridder’s speed and strength will eventually get it to the ground, where the Breda, Netherlands native excels.

“I see him doing the same to Bigdash. Bigdash will try to keep it on the feet by de Ridder is going to take this fight to the ground and pound him out.”