“I wouldn’t be betting against him” - Ariel Sexton says he won’t doubt Reinier de Ridder

Top lightweight contender Ariel Sexton is getting ready for his return to the circle in just a little over 24 hours.

Sexton is scheduled to make an appearance at the upcoming ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash event, which takes place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, July 22.

The 40-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will face former ONE featherweight world champion Marat ‘Cobra’ Gafurov in the evening’s lead card.

Ahead of the event, Ariel Sexton made sure to take time out to share his thoughts on the main event headliner between two-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder and top contender Vitaly Bigdash. The bout is for 'The Dutch Knight's' ONE middleweight world title.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Sexton revealed his pick for the highly-anticipated bout, where he unsurprisingly leaned towards his fellow grappler:

“I would say RDR. Because he’s got two belts, he’s looking pretty tough. I wouldn’t be betting against him. I think he’s there for a reason, and I could see him winning again. [I could see him] winning in the first round, probably.”

Sexton is a decorated black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and is the head instructor at the Renzo Gracie Academy in Brooklyn, New York. As such, ‘Tarzan’ is known as one of the most dangerous MMA grapplers in ONE Championship.

In fact, his reverse triangle keylock finish over Kota Shimoishi in 2018 will go down in history as one of the most high-level submissions of all time in the promotion.

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Ariel Sexton is in a battle of his own against father time

At the age of 40, the window of opportunity for a run at the ONE world title is quickly closing for Ariel Sexton. He hasn’t competed since February of 2019, more than three years away from the circle.

'Tarzan' had to prolong his absence due to a number of factors, including injuries as well as the lingering threat of COVID-19 and govenment imposed lockdowns,

However, if he can beat Gafurov, who was previously ranked in the top five at lightweight and was a former ONE world champion himself, it would certainly bode well for the Costa Rican-American’s stock.

The lightweight division in ONE is absolutely stacked. But if Ariel Sexton can put on a good showing, he could book himself an opportunity to fight against one of the division’s elite. And who knows? Perhaps a world title shot could be on the horizon for the talented grappler.