Brandon Vera predicts outcome of Reinier de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash fight at ONE 159

Brandon Vera, just like any other fight fan, is hyped for the upcoming middleweight world title clash between Reinier de Ridder and Vitaly Bigdash.

'The Dutch Knight' will defend the ONE middleweight world title against former world champion Bigdash at their namesake card ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash on Friday, July 22. The event will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Vera predicted the two middleweight titans will be in an all-out war with both fighters searching for a finish.

The former ONE heavyweight world champion said Bigdash could end things with his striking, while de Ridder could secure the finish on the ground.

Brandon Vera said:

“If de Ridder stands up with Bigdash, Bigdash is gonna knock him out. But if de Ridder’s smart like he has been, he’s going to go to the ground and finish Bigdash on the ground.”

While both de Ridder and Bigdash are equally adept on the ground, the Russian challenger tends to take charge with his striking more during bouts. Bigdash has 12 wins in his career, with four of those ending in a knockout.

Reinier de Ridder, who also holds the ONE light heavyweight world title, is one of the finest Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in MMA today. The two-division world champion holds a perfect 15-0 record, 6-0 in ONE Championship, with 10 of those victories coming by way of submission.

‘The Dutch Knight’ has so much confidence in his ground game that he even fought BJJ legend Andre Galvao in a submission grappling match at ONE X this past March.

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Brandon Vera in awe of ONE Championship’s heavyweight division

Brandon Vera once held court as the absolute king of ONE Championship’s heavyweight division and he’s proud of how the weight class has developed in such a short amount of time.

The heavyweight division is now littered with even more killers in Arjan Bhullar, the reigning ONE heavyweight world champion, Anatoly Malykhin, the ONE interim heavyweight world champion, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, and Odie Delaney, to name a few.

Vera, who held the ONE heavyweight world title from 2015 to 2021, said fighting in the heavyweight division is no joke and it’s either kill or be killed in ONE Championship’s land of the giants.

“Every time I see more and more people coming in, I think to myself, ‘Where are these guys coming from? Where are they finding all these monsters man?’ You can get hurt playing with those big boys at ONE Championship. The heavyweight division is no joke.”