Undefeated Reinier de Ridder claims ONE Championship middleweight title in Singapore
(James Goyder is the owner/editor of AsianMMA.com)
Reinier de Ridder came into ONE: Inside the Matrix with a perfect professional record. He was able to improve it at the expense of Aung La Nsang, becoming the new ONE middleweight champion in the process.
There were 250 fans in attendance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and several La Nsang fans were audible. The Burmese middleweight made a fast start and scored with a right uppercut in the first exchange of the fight.
A low kick from the champion landed flush and de Ridder answered with a takedown attempt. La Nsang shrugged it off initially, but was eventually thrown to the canvass by the Dutchman, who immediately took his back.
At first La Nsang looked relaxed and even joked with the referee. But de Ridder had a body lock and there was no way out for “The Burmese Python,” who had to settle for fighting off his opponent’s attempts to slide a forearm under the chin.
For a fraction of a second La Nsang was standing, but de Ridder still had his back. This time he was able to slip a forearm over the champion’s chin. It was more of a crank than a choke, but La Nsang had no way out.
The Dutchman finally did get the arm around the neck and the tap was inevitable.
“He defended well. He was prepared, but once I get that squeeze, I will squeeze your head off if I need to,” de Ridder said after the fight.
With the win, de Ridder improved to 13-0 and claimed the middleweight title. La Nsang dropped to 26-11-0-1 and saw his seven-fight winning streak snapped.
In the other title fights, lightweight champion Christian Lee (14-3) needed just 2:19 to become the first fighter to ever defeat Iuri Lapicus (14-1). The 22-year-old finished fight with a barrage of punches on the ground.
The featherweight belt changed hands with Thanh Le (12-2) finishing Martin Nguyen (13-4) in the third round. There were some blistering exchanges at the end with the American coming out on top and the finish coming at the 2:19 mark.
Strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan (15-2) successfully defended her title against Tiffany Teo (9-2). The Singaporean had her moments in the rematch, but was ultimately beaten by decision.
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ONE: Inside the Matrix Results
- Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder defeats Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:26 of round one
- Christian “The Warrior” Lee defeats Iuri Lapicus via TKO at 2:19 of round one
- Thanh Le defeats Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen via knockout at 2:19 of round three
- “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan defeats Tiffany “No Chill” Teo via unanimous decision
- Antonio “The Spartan” Caruso defeats Eduard “Landslide” Folayang via unanimous decision
- Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat defeats Nou Srey Pov via TKO at 2:02 of round two
Two new champions crowned with 4 titles on the line at ONE: Inside the Matrix