Leandro Ataides torn on who wins between Reinier de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159

If there’s any man who could give us an accurate prediction of this Friday night’s main event, it’s Leandro Ataides.

At ONE 159, two-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder will stake his ONE middleweight world title against top contender and former division king Vitaly Bigdash.

It’s a highly anticipated middleweight clash between arguably the two best fighters the division has ever seen.

Leandro Ataides has fought both men, so his opinion regarding this fight probably matters the most. Because he has circle experience with both De Ridder and Bigdash, he can probably tell us a lot about what’s going to happen in this fight this Friday night.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, 'Leo' shared his fight prediction with fans saying:

“It’s five rounds, so I’ll have a look by each round. I guess De Ridder has a chance to submit Vitaly in the first two rounds, but if it goes to the third round, I think Vitaly can beat him because he’s used to fighting for the five rounds. If the fight is going to four or five rounds, I think Bigdash will win, but if he doesn’t do anything in the first, second, or third, then De Ridder can submit him very quick. That’s my opinion for this fight.”

Of course, predictions are always only speculations. What happens in the fight is what matters most. However, if Ataides is correct, De Ridder needs to finish the fight as soon as he can. Otherwise, the former champion will be at an advantage in the later rounds.

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Leandro Ataides provided Vitaly Bigdash the blueprint to beat Reinier de Ridder

Leandro Ataides, a former ONE middleweight world title challenger himself, fought Reinier de Ridder at ONE: Warrior’s Code in February 2020. In their contest, 'Leo' pushed ‘The Dutch Knight’ to the limit, in what was deemed as arguably De Ridder’s toughest challenge since he joined ONE Championship in 2019.

Leandro Ataides constantly forced the Dutch grappler on the back foot. As a result, this negated De Ridder’s takedown threat, and forced him into deep water. De Ridder eventually scored a unanimous decision victory over 'Leo', but not without adversity.

It’s a fight De Ridder says he won't mind running back later, so that he can truly prove his dominance and erase all doubt that he’s the greatest ONE Championship middleweight of all time.

However, if De Ridder beats Bigdash, a former middleweight world titleholder himself, this Friday night, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has grand plans to raid the heavyweight division and go for gold in a third weight class.