Vitaly Bigdash
Leandro Ataides
Perhaps the one of the most intriguing matchups on the
undercard of ONE: GRIT AND GLORY, which takes place at the Jakarta Convention
Center in Indonesia on 12 May,
is the three-round middleweight encounter between Vitaly Bigdash and Leandro
Ataides.
There may be little local interest in the aforementioned
93-kilogram collision, but both Russia and Brazil can be very hopeful that a
world title shot will befall their countryman if either one of them will walk
away with the victory.
Bigdash may be displaying more of his grappling as of late,
but the 33-year-old native of Rostov, Russia originally made his name in the
striking department.
Having started out in his martial arts journey with
Kyokushin karate, Bigdash won several tournaments in the aforementioned tough
discipline before transitioning to Muay Thai in 2012. In that same year,
Bigdash made his cage debut and racked up eight consecutive victories en route
to capturing the ONE Middleweight World Championship in October 2015.
Of his nine wins, four of them have come by way of
knockout, including his thrilling stoppage of former ONE Middleweight World
Champion Igor Svirid to claim the gold-plated strap in October 2015.
In that bout which has come to be widely regarded as the
most exciting in ONE Championship history, Bigdash showed both his ability to
absorb and dispense damage, coming back from several knockdowns to dethrone the
champion.
Since he dropped the belt to Aung La N Sang in their June
2017 rematch, Bigdash is on the comeback trail, and the first opponent in his
path to redemption is Ataides.
“I’ve never been more prepared both mentally and physically
to take out my opponent like Leandro Ataides. I will shut down the doubters on May 12. It’s going to be an exciting
fight, one that I have definitely been looking forward to for a long time now,”
Bigdash declared.
On the other hand, Ataides is re-emerging as a top
contender in ONE Championship’s exhilarating middleweight division.
As a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Ataides
has always had the advantage on the ground, but he has also grown into a truly
complete martial artist, blending powerful striking and one-punch knockout
power with his submission arsenal.
After spending a few years under the guidance of Evolve
MMA’s many Muay Thai world champions, the 31-year-old Brazilian brute has won
half of his bouts via knockout, which includes his 47-second destruction of
Japan’s Tatsuya Mizuno and his flying knee knockout of Mohamed Ali that earned
him the honor of ONE Championship’s Best Knockout of 2016.
Even though he has hit roadblocks in his career, it have
only made him stronger as he will now take a two-bout winning streak into his
upcoming clash with Bigdash at ONE: GRIT AND GLORY.
Ataides believes that his upcoming cage meeting with
Bigdash could be the one to catapult him towards a shot at Aung La N Sang’s ONE
Middleweight World Championship.
“For me, every match is important. Every match is a title
shot for me. Every time I step into the cage, it is a big deal for me. All my
matches are important, and I always give 100 percent,” Ataides said.
“I know I will be champion eventually, but actually my goal
is to be the number one martial artist in my division in the world. That is
what I focus on, but obviously, with that comes the belt,” he added.
Like Ataides, Bigdash hopes that if he gets his hand raised
in triumph against his Brazilian foe, it could lead him to a title date with
Aung La N Sang.
“I will be very active, and I am going to aim for a
knockout or a submission, nothing else. Winning is the minimum result. Once I
win this bout, everyone will understand that I am qualified for a title shot,”
Bigdash stated. “I want a title shot, period.”
Yet despite the high ceiling for Bigdash, Ataides has the
extensive professional background between the two combatants, giving him the
advantage in experience and making the bout dead even on paper.
“This fight is going to be a treat for the fans,” Ataides
guaranteed. “We’re both hungry warriors, and we are probably just a win away
from a title shot. Whatever happened previously in our careers doesn’t matter
much anymore because what’s important is what happens next. I believe I’m ahead
of the game because of how much I have improved as a martial artist.”
With the middleweight clash between Bigdash and Ataides
promising to be an action-packed affair, fans are definitely riled up to see
the colossal showdown.
Both Bigdash and Ataides have great enough potential that a
loss for either of them would reap the same benefits as a win.
“He wants to win, and I want to win as well. We know what
is at stake in this bout. Fans should expect fireworks inside the cage on May 12. We will be going at it,”
Bigdash assured.
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