ONE 159 results: De Ridder defends Middleweight World title; Todd becomes interim Atomweight Muay Thai champ

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Singapore, July 23: Two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder stamped his dominance again with another masterful performance at ONE 159 on Firday (July 22) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

This time, he defended the ONE Middleweight World Championship against former titleholder Vitaly Bigdash. The Dutch competitor extended his unblemished career record to 16-0 after a first-round submission of the Russian challenger.

The Combat Brothers representative established his grappling game early by escaping Bigdash's guillotine choke and locking in a reverse triangle choke that ended the contest at the 3:29 mark of the opening round.

The victory also marked De Ridder's seventh mixed martial arts victory in ONE Championship and his second defense of the ONE Middleweight World Championship. It was also his fourth submission victory in The Home of Martial Arts. Moreover, the victory earned him a US$50,000 performance bonus.

In the co-main event, Janet Todd became the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion after a unanimous decision victory over WBC Muay Thai World Champion Lara Fernandez. The victory made Todd a two-sport ONE World Champion since she already held the ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Title. The American striker also extended her win streak to seven fights.

It was a hard-fought contest between the competitors as Todd took control of the first two rounds. However, Fernandez did better in rounds three and four.

In the deciding round, the Boxing Works representative put on a masterclass to dominate Fernandez and claim another ONE World Championship. As interim champ, Todd will have an opportunity to face ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Helen Rodrigues once she returns to active competition.

Meanwhile, two fights were cancelled before the event as Bokang Masunyane and Zeba Bano failed to make weight in their final pre-fight tests. South Africa's Masunyane was scheduled to face Japan's Hiroba Minowa on the main card, while India's Bano was set to face American debutant Lea Bivins on the lead card.

Here are the full results of ONE 159:

Main Card

• ONE Middleweight World Championship Bout: Reinier De Ridder defeated Vitaly Bigdash via submission (triangle choke) at 3:29 of round one

• ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship Bout: Janet Todd defeated Lara Fernandez via unanimous decision

• Bantamweight Bout: Muangthai PK.Saenchai defeated Vladimir Kuzmin via split decision

• Strawweight Kickboxing Bout: Zhang Peimian defeated Aslanbek Zikreev via unanimous decision

• Featherweight Muay Thai Bout: Jamal Yusupov defeated Jo Nattawut via unanimous decision

• Strawweight Bout: Danial Williams defeats Zelang Zhaxi via knockout at 4:20 of round one

Lead Card

• Lightweight Muay Thai Bout: Sinsamut Klinmee defeated Liam Nolan via knockout at 0:05 of round two

• Lightweight Bout: Marat Gafurov defeated Ariel Sexton via TKO at 4:15 of round three

• Welterweight Bout: Valmir Da Silva defeated Jin Tae Ho via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:55 of round two

ONE Championship returns to action with ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee II on August 26 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. ONE Lightweight World Champion Ok Rae Yoon will defend the title against former ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee. Thanh Le will also defend the ONE Featherweight World Champion against Tang Kai.

Source: Media Release