“It will be the peak of my MMA career” - Vitaly Bigdash excited to reclaim lost glory

Vitaly Bigdash maintained his spot at the top of the ONE Championship mountain in January 2017 after defeating rival ‘The Burmese Python’ Aung La N Sang to retain his ONE middleweight world championship.

The Russian stalwart spent an impressive 633 days as a world champion but would relinquish his belt to Aung La in a heated rematch just months later. Since then, Bigdash has only had one thing on his mind: reclaiming ONE Championship gold.

At ONE 159 on July 22, Bigdash will get that opportunity when he faces reigning two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Bigdash talked about the highly anticipated bout and how the last five years of his life have been dedicated to becoming a world champion once again.

“Five years and 22 days. That’s how long it will have been since I held the belt in my hands. And every hour, every minute has been dedicated to exactly this moment.”

Vitaly Bigdash faces a formidable opponent in ‘The Dutch Knight’ as De Ridder is yet to taste defeat in his mixed martial arts career. However, it also presents an opportunity for Bigdash to reach the peak of his tenure at the top of the mixed martial arts food chain.

“It will be the new step in my career I’ve long been longing for. It will be the peak of my MMA career. Taking the belt of the best league in the world is the dream of every MMA fighter.”

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Aung La N Sang discusses the upcoming middleweight showdown between Renier de Ridder and Vitaly Bigdash

When talking about two-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder or former world champion Vitaly Bigdash, few are as knowledgable as Aung La N Sang. A former two-division world champion, Aung La has faced ‘The Dutch Knight’ and Bigdash on multiple occasions.

Speaking to ONE Championship, ‘The Burmese Python’ shared his excitement for the upcoming world title clash.

“It’s going to be a good fight. They’re both very good competitors, so I’m excited for it, and I’m very familiar with both of them. It’s going to be a good one. It’s an exciting matchup for me and I’m really looking forward to who’s going to win that one.”

Aung La first met Vitaly Bigdash for the ONE middleweight world championship in January 2017. Coming up short in his initial attempt, the two squared off again at ONE: Light of a Nation in June 2017.

That night, ‘The Burmese Python’ captured ONE gold in front of thousands of screaming fans in Yangon and would carry the belt for an unprecedented 1,218 days before losing the world title to Reinier de Ridder at ONE: Inside the Matrix in late 2020.

Watch some highlights from Bigdash's time in the ONE circle below: