Reinier de Ridder to rematch Aung La N Sang at ONE on TNT IV after Vitaly Bigdash withdraws

Instead of a trilogy, ONE Championship light heavyweight titleholder Aung La N Sang has an immediate rematch in front of him.

On Friday, it was revealed that Vitaly Bigdash is out of Wednesday’s ONE on TNT IV headliner. In his place, middleweight champion Reinier de Ridder will challenge N Sang for his light heavyweight title. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie following an initial report from ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

According to Helwani, the reason for Bigdash’s withdrawal was a failed COVID-19 test in his native Russia. Bigdash and N Sang were looking to settle the score after splitting their first two fights four years ago, with Bigdash winning a January 2017 unanimous decision and N Sang returning the favor six months later.

But now N Sang (26-11) will aim to avenge his most recent loss to de Ridder (13-0), who earned a first-round submission last October to claim the middleweight title. Of de Ridder’s 13 career victories, 12 have come by stoppage with nine submissions.

Prior to losing to de Ridder, N Sang was on a seven-fight winning streak.

MAIN CARD (TNT, 10 p.m. ET)

• Aung La N Sang vs. Reinier de Ridder
• Eddie Alvarez vs. Rae Yoon Ok
• Kirill Grishenko vs. Oumar Kane

PRELIMINARY CARD (B/R Live, 8:30 p.m. ET)

• Shinya Aoki vs. Eduard Folayang
• Courtney Martin vs. Colbey Northcutt