Reinier De Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash: Aung La N Sang Previews the fight

The ONE Middleweight title is all set to be on the line at ONE 159 when Reinier De Ridder fights Vitaly Bigdash. Both De Ridder and Bigdash have been on impressive runs and the stakes are high for the fight.

With just days away from the fight, former two-division champion Aung La N Sang gave his take on the fight between Bigdash and De Ridder in his recent interview with ONE Championship.

Aung La has shared the circle with De Ridder on two occasions and fought Bigdash three times as well making him an ideal name to predict the fight. Below is what the Burmese Python had to say about the blockbuster showdown.

“It’s going to be a good fight. They’re both very good competitors. I’m excited for it, and I’m very familiar with both of them. I’ve spent, what, one to two hours [competing] with them? It’s an exciting matchup for me, and I’m really looking forward to who’s going to win that one.

[De Ridder’s best qualities are] his range, how long he is and his grappling. When you fight taller opponents, you have to close the distance, but he wants to close the distance as well because he’s a better grappler than he is a striker, so it’s interesting. He has interesting attributes. His grappling is very good. His wrestling is okay but his jiu-jitsu is very good.

ALSO READ | 22 Memes that only make sense to hardcore MMA fans

Physically, [Bigdash] is very strong. Skill set-wise, he has good striking, but he has great wrestling and submissions as well. If your defense is not on point, or something’s not on point, he will take advantage of that. He’s very sharp in terms of MMA fight IQ, and he’s always in tremendous shape.

If you look at both of their attributes, if you look at both of their skill sets, this is a dangerous fight for RDR, for sure. But RDR will surprise you.

This is a very, very close fight. I can’t really [give a prediction]. It’s a coin toss because if RDR is on point, and if he’s able to close the distance real quick and get on top, I don’t think Bigdash would be able to fight him off because he will stick to him like glue.

And vice-versa, if Bigdash is on top, I don’t see RDR sweeping him or submitting him from the bottom. It really depends on who’s able to impose their game plan.

ALSO READ | Aung La N Sang gives his prediction for Moraes vs. Johnson II

But I give a striking edge to Bigdash, for sure, and the grappling edge to Reinier. so it really depends on who’s able to better use the takedowns,” Aung La N Sang noted.

What do you think of the fight? Let us know in the comments below.

LEAVE A COMMENT

Please login to leave a comment

0 Comments