Vitaly Bigdash after ONE middleweight world title, $50,000 bonus and total domination starting with Aung La N Sang

Former ONE middleweight world champion Vitaly Bigdash has big plans for his career moving forward, starting with his next fight this Friday.

The 37-year-old from Rostov-on-Don, Russia meets former adversary Aung La N Sang in a trilogy match at ONE: Full Circle, which broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on February 25th.

First, Bigdash plans to beat Aung La N Sang. Then he wants a world title shot against reigning middleweight king ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder. In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Vitaly Bigdash laid out his plan to conquer the division:

“I am most interested in getting the belt, I want to become a champion again. I am hungry, I am motivated and I feel great now, so I pray to God to give me strength and keep me in good health, so I can go full force. It will be a dream to try my luck against Reinier de Ridder. He is undefeated, and the current ONE light heavyweight world champion and ONE middleweight world champion.”

Bigdash also has his eye on capturing the US $50,000 performance bonus, and says it adds extra incentive to get the best performance possible:

“This is a great thing ONE has going on. It definitely will motivate fighters to give their all. But when the organizers make such stacked cards like ONE: Full Circle, it gets difficult to get a bonus. A lot of top fighters will try to claim this bonus, but our fans expect a beautiful show from us so we must oblige. If I manage to get a bonus in the end, it will be a nice extra.”

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Vitaly Bigdash also wants to see what’s north of middleweight

When he’s all done clearing out middleweight, Vitaly Bigdash says he’s also interested in exploring the heavier weight classes:

“I walk around at about 98kg which falls in between these two weight categories so I either have to drop 8kg, or go up a couple of kilos. Going up is always easier. I'd like to try fighting in a higher weight class in the future. But first I must win against Aung La N Sang, then I can focus on de Ridder and other belts.”

Bigdash has grand designs on total domination in ONE Championship. He feels more determined than ever at this stage in his career and says it’s his time:

“As an athlete I am hungrier and angrier than ever, I feel like I am ready to claim what's mine. I have a very strong desire to claim this belt now. I don't know exactly how this fight will go. Fighting is an unpredictable business, but in my head I want it to end up like this - he [Aung La N Sang] is lying defeated on the canvas and I'm standing over him. Let's see how it goes in real life.”