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Former ONE world champion Vitaly Bigdash will be fighting two-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight strap this July 22 at ONE 159. It's been a long, tough road back to world title contention for Bigdash.
After losing his belt to former double champ Aung La N Sang in a rematch in 2017, Bigdash suffered his first career KO loss to Leandro Ataides the following year. Since returning to the Circle in 2018, however, Bigdash has been nothing but dominant in his outings.
With two straight submission wins and a trilogy-winning performance against his rival Aung La, Bigdash is now primed to regain the middleweight throne. In his way, however, will be perhaps the most dominant world champion ONE has ever produced.
Reinier 'The Dutch Knight' de Ridder is on a tear through two different weight classes and even jumped into submission grappling to take on a legend.
Today, we'll look at 3 of the best performances by Vitaly Bigdash inside the ONE Circle and see how he's going to fare against the dominant double-champ come July 22.
#3. Vitaly Bigdash vs. Yuki Niimura
After losing via devastating TKO to Leandro Ataides in 2018, Bidash seemingly made an overhaul of his gameplan in his next outing against Yuki Niimura. Instead of playing with fire on the feet, the Russian MMA star went for his clear strength on the ground.
Right away, Bigdash put his whole focus on grappling. After absorbing a hard leg kick from Niimura right at the opening bell, Bigdash caught a second one and put the Japanese fighter on his backside.
From the top position, Bigdash never relented and imposed heavy top pressure and ground-and-pound. The Russian MMA stalwart never gave his Japanese foe any space to attack or get back on his feet. Soon enough, the overwhelming pressure and strikes made Niimura expose his back and Bigdash pounced.
From back control, Vitaly Bigdash slapped on a really cool reverse-triangle choke and combined it with an armbar to finish the job.
Watch the full fight here:
#2 Vitaly Bigdash vs. Aung La N Sang III
This bout was the one that got Bigdash a second world title shot. Having already faced former ONE double champ Aung La N Sang twice prior, with both of them having one win each, Bigdash was looking to finally settle the score.
Bigdash brought his newfound focus on grappling and mixed it with his technical striking, particularly his effective use of the Thai clinch. Bigdash made the fight gritty, meeting Aung La in the middle and trading shots in the pocket and in the clinch.
Once 'The Burmese Python' got comfortable with the striking exchanges, however, Bigdash whipped out his double leg takedown to disrupt his momentum. This strategy proved to be effective as Aung La kept guessing where the fight would go. In the end, Bigdash's relentless assault on all fronts gave him his most dominant win over his rival to date.
Watch the full fight here:
#1. Vitaly Bigdash vs. Igor Svirid
Of all of Vitaly Bigdash's performances inside the Circle, none ever showcased the best of his abilities - from technical skills to intangibles - better than his ONE debut. For the middleweight world title against then-champion Igor Svirid, Bigdash produced one of the best bouts ever in ONE Championship history.
It was a fight that had more thrills and heart-stopping moments than a blockbuster action movie. The fact that this bout only lasted two rounds but had a total of five knockdowns makes it something of a rarity in the sport. Bigdash had to fend off four frightening knockdowns early on, as Svirid came at him with unrelenting pressure from the get-go.
Bigdash, after being on the brink of defeat multiple times, had to muster all the might and courage he had. Early in round 2, instead of shying away from striking and going for his grappling, Bigdash walked right into the fire to land a hard knee and a right cross.
The two strikes connected cleanly and sent Svirid crashing to the canvas, ending the bout and making Bigdash the new middleweight world champion.
This unbelievable war ended as dramatically as it started. It also showcased all the best things about Bigdash: excellent grappling, powerful striking, and legendary toughness and heart.
Watch the full fight here:
