“It’s an exciting matchup for me” - Aung La N Sang pumped for De Ridder vs. Bigdash at ONE 159

ONE Championship fans along with Aung La N Sang, will witness a main event of the highest proportions between two of the promotion’s middleweight elite, Reinier de Ridder and former titleholder Vitaly Bigdash.

The two will collide in the main event of ONE 159, which will broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, July 22.

No one has expressed more excitement for this matchup than a common foe of theirs in the legendary ‘The Burmese Python’ .

Aung La has a long history with both De Ridder and Bigdash. As such, he knows both men inside and out, and understands the high stakes of this epic middleweight clash.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, N Sang talked about how pumped he is for this bout:

“It’s going to be a good fight. They’re both very good competitors. I’m excited for it, and I’m very familiar with both of them. I’ve spent, what, one to two hours [competing] with them? It’s an exciting matchup for me, and I’m really looking forward to who’s going to win that one.”

As a former two-division ONE world champion himself, Aung La N Sang has had his fair share of encounters with both combatants.

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Aung La N Sang’s history with Reinier de Ridder and Vitaly Bigdash

‘The Burmese Python’ first tried his luck against Bigdash in 2017’s ONE: Quest for Power, but fell short of the belt in a unanimous decision loss. However, N Sang returned months later, this time defeating Bigdash to capture the ONE middleweight world title in front of his hometown fans in Myanmar. That victory instantly catapulted him into superstardom.

Bigdash would fall out of the middleweight conversation for a while, but not long after, a new threat would arise in the form of Dutch grappler Reinier de Ridder.

De Ridder took ONE Championship by storm, shockingly submitting Aung La in October of 2020 at ONE: Inside the Matrix to secure the middleweight title. Months later, Aung La fought De Ridder once more, this time with his light heavyweight belt on the line. De Ridder took that one too, winning by unanimous decision.

While N Sang is certainly not finished and believes he will make another storied run at the middleweight belt, the 37-year-old is content with just watching from the sidelines this time around, especially as this intense middleweight clash is sure to produce fireworks.