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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Three reasons why Filipinos should tune into ONE 159  

Three reasons why Filipinos should tune into ONE 159  

Published Jul 4, 2022 07:10 pm

When ONE Championship returns to live action on July 22 with ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash, it will be another stacked card with intense action from top to bottom.  

While there won’t be any Filipinos competing on the card, it will still be an interesting show for local fans given the implications for some of the Philippines’ top stars.  

That said, we dive into three reasons why ONE 159 is a must-watch for Filipino fight fans.  

Reinier De Ridder’s Greatness 

It’s time for people to start talking about Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder as one of the greatest World Champions, not only in ONE but everywhere MMA exists.  

Not only is he a two-division ONE World Champion who holds both the middleweight and light heavyweight straps, but he’s been one of the most active titleholders in the organization, competing in mixed martial arts and submission grappling.  

Before facing Vitaly Bigdash in the main event of ONE 159, where he’ll defend the ONE Middleweight World Title, De Ridder submitted ONE Welterweight World Champion Kiamrian Abbasov before taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Andre Galvao the distance in their submission grappling contest.  

If he can defend his strap against Bigdash, De Ridder could be the best World Champion in ONE given his ability to finish fights – four of his six bouts in the organization have ended by submission.  

Destiny For Bigdash? 

Everybody loves a Cinderella story, and Bigdash could actually pull one off on July 22.  

Back-to-back losses to then-World Champion Aung La N Sang and top-ranked Leandro Ataides dropped Bigdash out of contention, but the Russian slowly inched his way back to World Title relevance with a string of impressive performances.  

Quick submission wins over Yuki Niimura and Fan Rong earned him a chance to end his trilogy with Aung La N Sang, and he outclassed “The Burmese Python” to get the right to challenge De Ridder.  

If Bigdash beats the Dutch monster, then it will truly be one of the best comeback stories in ONE.  

Strawweight Division On The Move 

Strawweight is probably the deepest division for Filipinos athletes, from current ONE World Champion Joshua Pacio all the way down to rising stars like Jeremy Miado and Lito Adiwang.  

On this card, the second- and third-ranked contenders in Bokang Masunyane and Hiroba Minowa will go at it, while rising strawweight star Danial Williams will take on Chinese prospect Zelang Zhaxi.  

Those two matches will certainly pique the interest of Pinoy fans given that some of these names could face their very own soon.  

Read More From ONE Championship:          

‘He’s Predictable’ – Reinier De Ridder Expects To Dominate World Title Challenger Vitaly Bigdash         

‘He’s A Disrespectful Guy’ – John Lineker Would Love To ‘Educate’ Fabricio Andrade         

‘In A Heartbeat’ – Aung La N Sang Would Love To Fight Reinier De Ridder, Vitaly Bigdash Again         

Three Reasons Why Filipinos Should Tune Into ONE 159  

When ONE Championship returns to live action on 22 July with ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash, it will be another stacked card with intense action from top to bottom.  

While there won’t be any Filipinos competing on the card, it will still be an interesting show for local fans given the implications for some of the Philippines’ top stars.  

That said, we dive into three reasons why ONE 159 is a must-watch for Filipino fight fans.  

Reinier De Ridder’s Greatness 

It’s time for people to start talking about Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder as one of the greatest World Champions, not only in ONE but everywhere MMA exists.  

Not only is he a two-division ONE World Champion who holds both the middleweight and light heavyweight straps, but he’s been one of the most active titleholders in the organization, competing in mixed martial arts and submission grappling.  

Before facing Vitaly Bigdash in the main event of ONE 159, where he’ll defend the ONE Middleweight World Title, De Ridder submitted ONE Welterweight World Champion Kiamrian Abbasov before taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Andre Galvao the distance in their submission grappling contest.  

If he can defend his strap against Bigdash, De Ridder could be the best World Champion in ONE given his ability to finish fights – four of his six bouts in the organization have ended by submission.  

Destiny For Bigdash? 

Everybody loves a Cinderella story, and Bigdash could actually pull one off on 22 July.  

Back-to-back losses to then-World Champion Aung La N Sang and top-ranked Leandro Ataides dropped Bigdash out of contention, but the Russian slowly inched his way back to World Title relevance with a string of impressive performances.  

Quick submission wins over Yuki Niimura and Fan Rong earned him a chance to end his trilogy with Aung La N Sang, and he outclassed “The Burmese Python” to get the right to challenge De Ridder.  

If Bigdash beats the Dutch monster, then it will truly be one of the best comeback stories in ONE.  

Strawweight Division On The Move 

Strawweight is probably the deepest division for Filipinos athletes, from current ONE World Champion Joshua Pacio all the way down to rising stars like Jeremy Miado and Lito Adiwang.  

On this card, the second- and third-ranked contenders in Bokang Masunyane and Hiroba Minowa will go at it, while rising strawweight star Danial Williams will take on Chinese prospect Zelang Zhaxi.  

Those two matches will certainly pique the interest of Pinoy fans given that some of these names could face their very own soon.  

Read More From ONE Championship:          

‘He’s Predictable’ – Reinier De Ridder Expects To Dominate World Title Challenger Vitaly Bigdash         

‘He’s A Disrespectful Guy’ – John Lineker Would Love To ‘Educate’ Fabricio Andrade         

‘In A Heartbeat’ – Aung La N Sang Would Love To Fight Reinier De Ridder, Vitaly Bigdash Again         

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