Marvel at Reinier de Ridder’s insane submission that choked out Vitaly Bigdash

Former two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder reached legendary status when he choked out Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159.

‘The Dutch Knight’ was at the pinnacle of his MMA career when he defended his ONE middleweight world title against former divisional king Vitaly Bigdash last year. He racked up an insane record of 15 wins and zero losses before testing his skills against one of the hardest hitters in the division.

The Russian powerhouse, on the other hand, had spent the last five years working his way back up to world title contention after losing the middleweight strap to Aung La N Sang back in June 2017.

He accumulated a solid record of three straight wins over notable names including Yuki Niimura, Fan Rong, and a trilogy matchup with Aung La N Sang, to deserve a shot at Reinier de Ridder.

The fight was expected to be a closely-contested matchup since both athletes possessed an advanced level of skill in both wrestling and striking.

In addition, with De Ridder’s reputation as being the most dangerous grappler in the division, fans expected Bigdash to avoid wrestling with the dominant world champion at all costs. What they saw, instead, was the exact opposite.

Vitaly Bigdash immediately went in for the kill to sink in the guillotine but De Ridder survived. Transitioning to mount, De Ridder worked his magic to secure one of the most legendary submissions in MMA history.

Marvel at Reinier de Ridder’s insane submission that choked out Vitaly Bigdash below:

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Reinier de Ridder believes he can submit one of the best in the world if he focuses purely on grappling

ONE middleweight world champion, Reinier de Ridder believes he can submit the best grappler in the world if he shifts his focus on grappling full-time.

Indeed, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is almost unparalleled in jiu-jitsu grappling. However, he’s never been truly tested outside of the MMA cage.

On May 5, De Ridder will meet his match when he faces Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Tye Ruotolo in a submission grappling showdown at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. Defeating Tye Ruotolo by submission will not be an easy task. He’s fast, intuitive, and efficient.

However, De Ridder will let his skills and submission record speak for themselves. He is currently training again with IBJJF champions to prepare for another technical and cerebral showdown.

So, De Ridder feels super confident that he could even take on the best world champion in the four months that he’s been training only jiu-jitsu.

Speaking to SCMP MMA, he argued:

“I can hang with the best in the world while I’m just doing MMA, maybe I can submit one of the best in the world when I’m just focused on grappling.”

ONE Fight Night 10 is ONE Championship’s first on-site fight card in the United States. The May 5 card goes down at 1stBank Center and will be broadcast live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.