Vitaly Bigdash is a believer in destiny, and come Friday, July 20, he plans to take exactly what he thinks is his.
Bigdash challenges two-division ONE World Champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder for the ONE Middleweight World Title at ONE 159, and the Russian believes this will be the culmination of years of hard work.
“Deep inside, of course, I’m very happy to have this opportunity to fight for the title again because I’ve been waiting for it for a long time. After I lost the belt, I had a series of injuries and obstacles, world pandemics. So I’m very happy that I managed to win a number of fights and again reach the title bout,” Bigdash told ONEFC.com.
“It feels like divine providence. I feel that everything leads me to the title, and everything that’s happened was a challenge leading up to what’s next.”
Bigdash last held the World Title in 2017 but dropped it to Aung La N Sang before losing his next match to Leandro Ataides, the first consecutive losses of his career.
A series of injuries kept him on the sidelines, but the 37-year-old kept on grinding and believing – and now he has the chance to manifest his destiny against the Dutch grappler.
“Five years and 22 days. That’s how long it will have been since I held the belt in my hands. And every hour, every minute has been dedicated to exactly this moment,” Bigdash said.
“It will be the new step in my career I’ve long been longing for. It will be the peak of my MMA career. Taking the belt of the best league in the world is the dream of every MMA fighter.”
Asked about De Ridder, he noted how the Dutchman has basically run through everyone in two divisions over the past few years.
However, Bigdash exhumed confidence in his skills, saying that he’s better than “The Dutch Knight” in every aspect of the game, and that he’s ready to face the Combat Brothers representative wherever the match winds up.
“I’m confident. I know which skills I have in order to beat him. I think he would not be the champion if we faced off earlier because I believe I’m better in all aspects of fighting. I’m physically stronger, and my striking is way better so I don’t think he would have been able to pass me,” he said.
“I’m ready to knock him out, submit him, dominate all five rounds – it doesn’t matter to me. Like I said after [the Aung La N Sang] fight, I will break his face.”
Catch ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash live this Friday, July 20, beginning with the lead card on One Sports or One Sports+ at 6:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PHT). The main card will broadcast live on One Sports and One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. PHT.