Relive the Aung La N Sang vs. Reinier De Ridder Rivalry in ONE Championship

The rivalry between Aung La N Sang and Reinier De Ridder is hands down one of the most interesting storylines in ONE Championship. Aung La was reigning as the two-division champion in ONE Championship when Reinier De Ridder entered the scene.

The Burmese Python had the ONE Middleweight Title and the ONE Light Heavyweight Title on his resume and it all changed when he crossed paths with De Ridder.

The Dutchman, who was impressed in his initial outings in ONE Championship, immediately got a shot at the Middleweight title of Aung La at ONE Inside the Matrix. De Ridder submitted the champion under four minutes and captured the gold. But he was not going to stop there.

Six months after his Middleweight title loss against Reinier De Ridder, Aung La N Sang was scheduled to have his trilogy bout with Vitaly Bigdash at ONE on TNT 4. The fight was supposed to be for the ONE Light Heavyweight title but Bigdash had to pull out of the fight due to testing positive for COVID.

De Ridder sensed the opportunity and jumped in as a short-notice replacement for Bigdash.

This time around, Aung La managed to push the fight to the distance. The Champion, however, could not hang in with the grappling skills that Reinier De Ridder brought to the table.

He was dominated on the ground and De Ridder comfortably won the fight via a decision. This, in turn, made Reinier De Ridder a two-division champion in the ONE Championship.

Both the fighters showed respect towards each other after the fights and were seen training together at Sanford MMA in Florida ahead of the Reinier De Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash showdown.

Aung La has noted that he is interested in another showdown with De Ridder and believes that the result will be different if they fight again. What are your thoughts on a potential third match between the two? Let us know in the comments below

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