“My style is different” - Vitaly Bigdash believes he will give Reinier de Ridder a different look at ONE 159

Former ONE middleweight world champion Vitaly Bigdash is looking to take back the middleweight throne when he takes on undefeated Dutch two-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder at ONE 159.

Bigdash is fresh off winning a trilogy bout against 'The Burmese Python' Aung La N Sang and is now coming to reclaim his ONE Championship gold.

The Russian fighter held the middleweight belt for nearly two years and now has an opportunity to capture it again on July 22. Standing in his way is the undefeated De Ridder.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Russian-born fighter discussed how much he respects the accolades and accomplishments of the reigning king of the division:

"I think [Reinier] de Ridder is a very tough fighter. His lossless record and two world titles speak for themselves. He is a well-taught, tough, and serious fighter. I don’t underestimate him, and I know his strengths."

Reinier de Ridder has an impressive record with wins over Aung La N Sang, Leandro Ataides, and welterweight world champion Kiamrian Abbasov. Impressively, more than 60 percent of his wins have come by way of submission.

Vitaly Bigdash is aware of his opponent's dangerous ground game and says he will be able to handle it:

"His strength is his jiu-jitsu. His power is his top control. His takedowns are not very powerful, but he is rather viscous, fluid, and my style is just different. It’s more of a classic jiu-jitsu and jacket wrestling."

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Reinier de Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159

On July 22, the former ONE middleweight world champion will be looking to take back his belt against the defending Reinier de Ridder. ‘The Dutch Knight’ believes he is well prepared to handle the game of the Russian-born challenger.

Speaking in an interview with ONE Championship, De Ridder had this to say on his ONE 159 opponent:

“[Bigdash] takes his time, picks his shots. There are a lot of single shots on the feet which is smart sometimes. His shots are pretty straight, pretty clean. But he’s predictable, and he gets tired very easily... He’s going to be tired by the end of the first. And he is going to be done by the end of the second.”

The undefeated ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion seems very confident going into his next title defense against Vitaly Bigdash.

'The Dutch Knight' will look to add another impressive scalp to his already decorated resume with a win over the former ONE titleholder at ONE 159 on July 22.