![Reinier de Ridder (L) and Julie Mezabarba (R) [Photo Credits: ONE Championship]](https://news7h.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/08bae-16584509260723-1920-780x470.jpg)
ONE Championship two-category world champion Reinier de Ridder Only a few hours left until his next major title defense. ‘Dutch Knight’ will try to keep both his middleweight world title and undefeated record as he faces a formidable Russian opponent Vitaly Bigdash during the main event of ONE 159 on July 22.
Taking place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, fans all over the world will be glued to this classic striker competition. While Bigdash is nothing short of outstanding on the ground, Reinier de Ridder has proven that nothing is lacking when it comes to the groundwork.
An atomic competitor Julie Mezabarba took a moment while speaking to ONE Championship to share her predictions for the highly anticipated midweight confrontation.
“I believe Reinier is more motivated. He is on the rise. That’s why I believe Reinier will be more rhythmic and will deliver higher hits in this match. I predict Reinier’s decisive victory.”
The general consensus seems to be that ‘The Dutch Knight’ should walk out of ONE 159 with his title and undefeated record still intact. However, Mezabarba made a bold prediction suggesting that de Ridder would deliver a higher hit count, as Bigdash is considered by many to be the better of the two when it comes to forehand throws. Perhaps Mezabarba knows something fans don’t about Reinier de Ridder’s stand-up game development.
Reinier de Ridder will attempt to continue his historic run against his toughest challenger
The ‘Dutch Knight’ wants to continue his historic run under the ONE banner on Friday night with a big win over arguably his toughest opponent. Vitaly Bigdash has proven himself to be a quality striker and has struggled in recent matches. Also, the Russian boxer can never be counted on, as evidenced by his frenetic comeback against Igor Svirid at ONE: Tigers of Asia.
As Julie Mezabarba said, Reinier de Ridder is carrying most of the momentum going into the match. With two world titles and an undefeated record, the pressure to maintain his status will be overwhelming.
Not a Breda, Dutch native, however, de Ridder was as cold as a cucumber all the way down the road, even showing that he intends to challenge heavyweight gold if he beats Vitaly Bigdash in this weekend.
Never in the history of combat sports has a boxer held three different world championships in the same organization at the same time. This seems to be the end of the ‘Dutch Knight’ category, assuming he passes his Russian test at ONE 159.
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Regardless of the outcome, this will definitely be a meaningful contest. For Bigdash, a win would be the culmination of more than five years of work after losing the world championship to a rival. Aung La N Sang. For de Ridder, it will further establish his legacy and set the stage for ‘The Dutch Knight’ to make history.
