Reigning ONE Middleweight World Champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder continued his mastery over Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang and this time, he has finally plundered all the gold from the hero of Myanmar.
De Ridder can now call himself a two-division World Champion after winning the ONE Light Heavyweight title from Aung La in the main event of ONE on TNT IV last Thursday morning in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Dutchman was relentless in his grappling and for a moment in the first round it looked like history would repeat itself as De Ridder picked Aung La’s heels and eventually got the body lock and takedown.
And like in their first meeting, the Combat Brothers representative was able to take Aung La’s back but the champion was prepared for it this time around. De Ridder transitioned to an arm triangle, but Aung La had answers to it, eventually sweeping him and moving to the top position near the end of the first round.
But that was about all the offense Aung La offered in the match as De Ridder ground him out each time he had the chance, shooting for takedowns non-stop and immediately clinching each time they were stood up.
By the end of five rounds, the decision was beyond question and after beating Aung La twice to take both of his belts, he’s gunning for a third World Title and he has his eyes set on Aung La’s old rival, and good friend in ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera.
“Let me say first Aung, thank you, brother. You’ve improved leaps and bounds from six months ago, you’re a true champion,” De Ridder told Mitch Chilson after the match.
I got a belt here, I got a belt there, I got a spot for one more around my waist. Brandon Vera, what do you wanna do in a few months man? What are you up to this summer?”
In the co-main event, a new star was born as fifth-ranked lightweight contender Ok Rae Yoon put on a splendid performance to take a unanimous decision win over the legendary Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez.
Ok came close to finishing Alvarez in the first round as he flattened the American with a right cross before pouncing with some big ground and pound. The four-time World Champion, though, survived and even made a match out of it in the ensuing rounds.
The South Korean wasn’t going to be denied though as he took Alvarez’ best shots and responded promptly to take a well-deserved decision win.
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