Zeba Bano seeks redemption at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash

Bengaluru, June 22: Indian MMA athlete and Women's strawweight competitor Zeba Bano hopes for a quick turn around when she faces a debutant at the upcoming ONE 159: De Ridder vs.Bigdash undercard.

Bano fell short during her ONE Championship debut against Nat "Wondergirl" Jaroonsak at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot. The Thai fighter landed a knee on Bano's forehead before finishing her with an armbar 82 seconds into the fight.

Two months after that bout, "Fighting Queen" will have a chance to redeem herself as she competes at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash versus ONE newcomer Lea "First Moon" Bivins.

The Indian fighter would like to apply the lessons she learned from her previous contest to score a victory over the 19-year-old American.

As revealed in the event's namesake, two-division ONE World Champion Reinier "The Dutch Knight" De Ridder will defend the ONE Middleweight World Championship against Vitaly Bigdash.

De Ridder is coming off a draw in a submission grappling match against Andre Galvao at ONE X this past March. However, he remains undefeated in mixed martial arts with a 15-0 record.

De Ridder's last MMA fight was at ONE: FULL CIRCLE this past February, wherein he scored a third-round submission victory over Kiamrian "Brazen" Abbasov. The clash with Bigdash will be his second ONE World Title defense, and it wouldn't be a walk in the park because the Russian challenger is on a three-fight winning streak.

His latest triumph inside the Circle was against former two-division ONE World Champion Aung La "The Burmese Python" N Sang.

In the co-main event, ONE Women's Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet "JT" Todd will face Lara Fernandez for the ONE Interim Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship.

After defeating Stamp Fairtex at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE in February 2020 to claim the belt, Todd kept her winning ways going by dominating Alma Juniku and Anne Line Hogstad.

Todd would like to add another ONE World Title to her trophy case, but it will only happen if she can defeat the reigning WBC Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion, who will be making her ONE debut. The 25-year-old warrior from Coria Del Rio, Spain, is also the International Sport Kickboxing Association World Super Featherweight titleholder.

The Lone Wolf Fight Team representative also won bronze medals in the 2021 International Federation of Muaythai Associations World Championships and the 2022 IFMA European Championships. As of August 2021, Fernandez has a kickboxing record of 40-13-3.

Here is the card for ONE 159:

Main Card

• Reinier De Ridder vs. Vitaly Bigdash (ONE Middleweight World Championship)

• Janet Todd vs. Lara Fernandez (Interim ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship)

• Bokang Masunyane vs. Hiroba Minowa (strawweight)

• Muangthai PK.Saenchai vs. Vladimir Kuzmin (bantamweight Muay Thai)

• Zhang Peimian vs. Aslanbek Zikreev (strawweight kickboxing)

• Zelang Zhaxi vs. Danial Williams (strawweight)

Lead Card

• Sinsamut Klinmee vs. Islam Murtazaev (lightweight Muay Thai)

• Ariel Sexton vs. Marat Gafurov (lightweight)

• Jessa Khan vs. Amanda Alequin (atomweight submission grappling)