Former two-division ONE World Champion Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang expects a barnburner to go down when Russian powerhouse Vitaly Bigdash challenges double-champ Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight throne in the main event of ONE 159 on July 22. 

The Myanmar star knows what both fighters bring to the Circle, having shared the Circle with them on a total of five occasions.

Aung La N Sang and Vitaly Bigdash collided in three epic middleweight battles, the latest of which earned the Russian star his upcoming title shot, and he has fought Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder twice in the past two years.

“The Burmese Python” guarantees that the World Title tussle headlining ONE’s next event will be an instant classic, but he cannot pick a clear winner.

“It’s going to be a good fight. They’re both very good competitors. I’m excited about it, and I’m very familiar with both of them,” he said.

“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.”

“I Will Break His Face” – Bigdash Fired Up to Dethrone De Ridder and Reclaim Middleweight Crown

Despite being unable to predict which man will leave the Singapore Indoor Stadium with the gold on his shoulder, Aung La N Sang knows exactly in what area of the bout each star will flourish.

Aung La N Sang breaks down Vitaly Bigdash’s style

In terms of Bigdash, the Myanmar martial artist feels the Russian’s fight IQ and strength will be pivotal, and he notes that his former rival’s arsenal is as complete as it gets.

“Physically, [Bigdash] is very strong. Skill set-wise, he has good striking, but he has great wrestling and submissions as well,” Aung La N Sang said.

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“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.”

“The Burmese Python” dissects double champion, Reinier de Ridder

As for De Ridder, “The Burmese Python” expects him to be at his best. He points to the Dutchman’s grappling as the key to maintaining his hold on the division.

“[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,” he stated.

3 Fighters to Watch at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash

Whether or not the challenger has what it takes to dethrone the undefeated king of the division remains to be seen, but whatever the outcome is, fans are certainly in for a firefight at ONE 159 on July 22.