The incredible history of the ONE Championship middleweight world title

ONE Championship’s middleweight division is a storied one, its halls lined with legends and all-time greats who have graced the circle with memorable performances throughout the years.

On July 22, two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder returns to face Vitaly Bigdash with middleweight gold on the line in the main event at ONE 159. But before the two elites step into the circle, let's take a quick look back at the journey of ONE Championship's middleweight world title from its inception.

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Igor Svirid defeats Leandro Ataides to capture the inaugural ONE middleweight world title

Anticipation was built around the world title fight between Igor Svirid and Leandro Ataides in 2014, with the winner becoming the first ONE middleweight world champion. That's where the story begins.

Naturally, the stakes were high and the air was indeed palpable. Two aggressive young middleweights looking to secure ONE Championship glory was all it took to produce an instant classic.

The match took less time than Svirid’s walk to the circle, with the Kazakh warrior battering Ataides in 17 seconds to become the inaugural ONE middleweight world champion.

Svirid instantly dropped Ataides to the canvas with a well-placed jab and it was there that he secured the finish with relentless ground-and-pound.

‘Lion Heart’ was the first ever ONE middleweight world champion, but unfortunately, his reign was short-lived.

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Vitaly Bigdash survives onslaught to finish Igor Svirid and take the middleweight belt

If the bout for the inaugural middleweight world title was a flash-in-the-pan moment, then Svirid’s first defense of the strap was the complete opposite.

Svirid, a year removed from his world-title winning performance over Ataides, welcomed Russia’s Vitaly Bigdash into ONE Championship. As it turns out, Bigdash’s first fight for ONE was just the precursor to an incredible career.

Bigdash was able to weather Svirid’s striking early in the match and pulled off, arguably, the greatest comeback in the promotion’s history. Svirid was in total control in the first few minutes of the bout, knocking down Bigdash several times in the first round.

Keeping his composure, Bigdash used his elite grappling, forcing Svirid to his absolute limit. The Russian ultimately finished things off in the second round, winning via technical knockout.

The then-debuting Bigdash landed a crippling knee strike seconds into the round and subsequently pummeled Svirid with hammerfists to capture the ONE middleweight world title in October 2015.

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Aung La N Sang rises to superstardom, becomes ONE Championship legend

Aung La N Sang had fallen short in his first bid for the ONE middleweight world title in January 2017, but his rematch with Bigdash just months later sparked his march toward MMA immortality.

‘The Burmese Python’ stepped in against Bigdash on 10 days’ notice in their first encounter. He wound up losing a unanimous decision. Their rematch, however, saw a hungrier and stronger Aung La.

With a full camp preparing him and a raucous hometown crowd behind him in Yangon, Aung La put on an inspired performance worthy of the world title’s prestige.

The opening bell saw Aung La batter Bigdash with his superior striking and he repeatedly rocked the former world champion throughout the five-rounder. Despite exhaustion getting the better of the two fighters, Aung La pushed and tagged Bigdash with his best shots.

The Burmese legend eventually earned the unanimous decision win to capture the ONE Championship middleweight world title.

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A new king is crowned in undefeated Dutchman Reinier de Ridder

Aung La was firmly cemented as an MMA legend, with two world titles to his name at middleweight and light heavyweight. At this point, he was arguably ONE Championship’s biggest draw, with millions of fans in Myanmar following him like a rockstar.

Despite the indomitable aura Aung La exuded, a marauder from the Netherlands emerged to challenge the legendary ‘Burmese Python'.

Hailing from Breda, Reinier de Ridder marched to capture as much gold in ONE Championship as he could. It just so happened that Aung La owned the two world titles ‘The Dutch Knight’ wanted.

Reinier de Ridder, who was then on a three-fight winning streak, first faced Aung La in October 2020 in Singapore in a match that became a preview of how dominant the Dutch star could be as a world champion.

Mere seconds into the fight, de Ridder secured the takedown and got control of Aung La’s back. Slowly and gradually improving his control, de Ridder slipped his right arm underneath Aung La’s chin, and within seconds, the once invincible Aung La had tapped out.

The Dutchman eventually took Aung La’s light heavyweight belt too, but that’s a story for a different time.

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Vitaly Bigdash ready to lay siege on Reinier de Ridder’s throne

Bigdash, the once-proud ruler of the middleweight ranks, is back to reclaim the throne he once sat in. Riding a three-fight winning streak, Bigdash is primed to challenge de Ridder for the ONE middleweight world championship at ONE 159 on July 22.

Bigdash ran through Yuki Niimura and Fan Rong, and completed his trilogy with fierce rival Aung La to get back into the world title picture. After five years of being without the belt, Bigdash wants nothing more than to take back what he feels is rightfully his.

If history indeed repeats itself, then this could be the end of the line for de Ridder. But fate loves the fearless, and destiny is shaped only by sheer will. If ‘The Dutch Knight’ has it his way, he will retain his perfect record, and keep middleweight gold draped over his shoulders.