Watch: Reinier de Ridder and Vitaly Bigdash in intense face-off at ONE 159 ceremonial weigh-ins

The time has almost arrived for two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder and Russian challenger Vitaly Bigdash to meet in the ONE circle. Just hours away from ONE 159, the two behemoths are set to square off in the evenings’s main event with ONE gold on the line.

It would be a statement win for the undefeated double-champ. For Bigdash, it would be the culmination of more than five years of work. Ahead of the highly anticipated showdown, ONE Championship shared a clip of the two fighters standing face-to-face at the ONE 159 ceremonial weigh-ins.

“Here we GO 💪🔥 Which fight are YOU most excited for?!”

Sitting at an impressive 15-0 in his mixed martial arts career, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is fighting for more than just one of his world titles. He’s fighting for pride, legacy, and the prospect of adding a third title to his mantle. The fighter has expressed interest in challenging for the heavyweight strap should he defeat his next opponent.

On the flip side, Vitaly Bigdash is trying to regain the glory he felt when he captured the ONE middleweight world title from rival Aung La N Sang at ONE: Quest for Power in 2017. The Russian juggernaut spent six months as the promotion’s middleweight king before ‘The Burmese Python’ reclaimed his belt at ONE: Light of a Nation.

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Vitaly Bigdash is ready to shock the world against Reinier de Ridder on Friday

Much has been said about the impending showdown between ‘The Dutch Knight’ and Vitaly Bigdash. The general consensus is backing the reigning world champion to keep his crown, citing his superior ground game and cardio should the fight hit the later rounds. de Ridder himself commented on Bigdash’s cardio being his downfall while speaking to ONE Championship.

“He starts off very strongly, he starts off with a lot of power. But he does fatigue, he does fade, and he fades pretty soon, pretty early. He'll be tired at the end of the first, come out, guns blazing again in the second, and by the end of the second, I'll have him down and choked out.”

While there may be some truth to de Ridder’s comments when considering Bigdash’s past fights, it’s clear that the Russian beast is not taking any chances. In a recent post on Instagram, Vitaly Bigdash appeared to be absolutely shredded and looked as in-shape as he has ever been in his career.

While training with current interim heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin at Tiger Muay Thai, Bigdash has been working on his strength and conditioning in anticipation of a five-round war with de Ridder. If he can manage his cardio in the first half of the bout, he may be able to outlast the champ in the second half and shock the world.