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On December 17, ONE Championship: Winter Warriors II will have a bout that may shake the earth. Two behemoths with knockout power will collide for a potential shot at two-division champion Reinier 'The Dutch Knight' de Ridder’s middleweight belt.
Former ONE Championship middleweight champion Vitaly Bigdash will make his long-awaited return with an eye on recapturing the gold.
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On the heels of his phenomenal submission win over the dangerous Yuki Niimura, the Russian with the heart of a lion is inching closer to another title shot. Despite having a strong kickboxing background, Bigdash has surprised fans with his underrated submission game. The Rostov native has now become a threat once the fight gets to the ground.
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Come December 17, Bigdash has to get past China's 'King Kong Warrior' Fan Rong, who is a juggernaut in his home country. Fan has a 14-2 pro record and is riding a two-fight winning streak. His most recent domination of Brazilian jiu-jitsu no-gi world champion Yuri Simoes proves that Fan can handle grappling-heavy attacks. Just look at the power of Fan's right hand:
The Chinese star is hungry for a rematch with champion De Ridder to avenge the only submission loss of his career. To do that, he has to take out a former ONE world champion in Bigdash first.
This bout could be the potential fight of the night as both have knockout power in their hands. Not only that, but both middleweight monsters have a penchant for coming back after adversity. Fans will be kept on the edge of their seats once the bell signals the start of this ONE Championship middleweight bout.
ONE Championship: Winter Warriors II looks to end 2021 with a bang
After the utter success of Winter Warriors, ONE Championship will ride the momentum with Winter Warriors II. The six-bout main card will see ONE Championship showcase its MMA roots. In addition to the staggering middleweight bout between Vitaly Bigdash and Fan Rong, the main card will be headlined by Danny 'The King' Kingad and former ONE flyweight champion Kairat 'The Kazakh' Akhmetov.
The 14-2 Kingad is desperate for a rematch MMA GOAT contender Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson and a crack at the belt next year.
To do that, the Filipino dynamo has to go through the former Greco-Roman wrestling champion Akhmetov. 'The Kazakh' has already bested current ONE Championship flyweight champion Adriano 'Mikinho' Moraes for the belt in 2015. Akhmetov, however, lost the strap to Moraes in a rematch. Akhmetov will not be a walk in the park as the former flyweight king looks to secure a trilogy fight with the champion.
