Reinier de Ridder Chokes Out Vitaly Bigdash to Retain ONE Middleweight World Title
ONE Championship (ONE) electrified the Singapore Indoor Stadium with an exciting night of world-class martial arts action at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash. The thrilling card featured a World Championship doubleheader, with the ONE Middleweight World Title and the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Title both on the line.
ONE Championship, in partnership with leading premium lifestyle and luxury performance brand TUMI, presented the prestigious ONE World Title belt to a pair of World Champions.
HIGHLIGHT VIDEO:
In the main event, two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder retained his middleweight belt with a first-round submission over former titleholder Vitaly Bigdash.
De Ridder closed the distance early, shooting for a double-leg takedown. But Bigdash was able to latch onto his neck and secure a guillotine choke. After a brief moment of trying to free himself from the tight chokehold, “The Dutch Knight” was able to pop his head out of his Russian adversary’s grasp and narrowly escaped the clutches of defeat.
A scramble ensued, and De Ridder saw an opening to lock in an inverted triangle. With his head stuck in the choke, Bigdash was defenseless and the referee called a halt to the contest just as he fell asleep. De Ridder earned a US$50,000 bonus for his performance.
In the co-main event, ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet Todd defeated Lara Fernandez to capture the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Title and become a World Champion in two sports. Todd started out strong, using her precision striking and well-placed counterstrikes to stifle “Pizza Power” in the first two rounds. But the Spaniard came alive in rounds three and four, bringing the fight to the American. In the fifth and final stanza, Todd turned up the pressure and forced Fernandez on the back foot, as she took the belt by sheer force.
Thai superstar Muangthai PK.Saenchai did just enough to get past Russia’s Vladimir Kuzmin after a close battle in the Circle. Muangthai and Kuzmin came to fight, with both men having their moments across three heated rounds. However, neither fighter established dominance over the other, and after nine minutes of solid action, the judges saw the bout in favor of Muangthai to win by razor-thin split decision.
In a battle of evenly matched strawweight kickboxers, 18-year-old Chinese phenom Zhang Peimian put together a spirited effort to overcome Russian veteran Aslanbek Zikreev. The two exchanged fiery combinations from the sound of the opening bell, and they managed to sustain the action across three back-and-forth rounds. Ultimately, the judges deemed Zhang the more precise and effective striker, and they awarded him a close unanimous decision victory.
Fifth-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender Jamal Yusupov scored a hard-fought unanimous decision over highly regarded Jo Nattawut. From the start of the contest, Nattawut was more than game to trade strikes with Yusupov at the center of the Circle, but a pair of left hands sent the Thai star down in round two. Nattawut survived, but the Russian finished the bout strong. After three rounds of action, Yusupov earned the judges’ nod.
Australian firecracker Danial Williams turned in another explosive performance, shutting the lights out on Chinese opponent Zelang Zhaxi. After finding a home for his right hand in the early going, Williams connected on the fight-ending blow with less than a minute to go in the first round. The knockout earned Williams a US$50,000 bonus.
Performance bonus winners: Reinier de Ridder (US$50,000), Danial Williams (US$50,000), Sinsamut Klinmee (US$50,000)
MAIN CARD
MMA – Middleweight: Reinier de Ridder def. Vitaly Bigdash via Submission (Inverted Triangle) at 3:29 of R1
Muay Thai – Atomweight: Janet Todd def. Lara Fernandez via Unanimous Decision
Muay Thai – Bantamweight: Muangthai PK.Saenchai def. Vladimir Kuzmin via Split Decision
Kickboxing – Strawweight: Zhang Peimian def. Aslanbek Zikreev via Unanimous Decision
Muay Thai – Featherweight: Jamal Yusupov def. Jo Nattawut via Unanimous Decision
MMA – Strawweight: Danial Williams def. Zelang Zhaxi via Knockout at 4:20 of R1
LEAD CARD
Muay Thai – Lightweight: Sinsamut Klinmee def. Liam Nolan via Knockout at 0:05 of R2
MMA – Lightweight: Marat Gafurov def. Ariel Sexton via TKO at 4:15 of R3
MMA – Welterweight: Valmir Da Silva def. Jin Tae Ho via Submission (Guillotine) at 4:55 of R2
