5 Things You Might Not Know About Vitaly Bigdash

An all-too-familiar face blocks Vitaly Bigdash’s road in One Championship.

The twice-beaten Russian will complete his trilogy with fellow former middleweight titleholder Aung La N Sang when the rivals collide for a third time—their head-to-head series is tied at 1-1—in a One Championship “Full Circle” co-feature on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Bigdash, 37, enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories. He last appeared at One Championship “Winter Warriors 2,” where he submitted Fan Rong with a guillotine choke in the third round of their Dec. 3 encounter.

As Bigdash marches toward another anticipated rematch with Sang, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Some might call him a late bloomer.

Bigdash made his mixed martial arts debut at the age of 28 when he submitted Davrbek Isakov with a first-round armbar at a Professional Fighting Championships show on Aug. 24, 2012 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. In fact, he has secured more than half (six) of his 11 career wins after he turned 30.

2. He has mastered alternate routes.

While Kyokushin karate and muay Thai form his base, Bigdash has flashed well-rounded skills since he burst on the MMA scene nearly a decade ago. Six of his 10 stoppage victories have resulted in submission, and he has procured them through six different techniques: armbar, heel hook, triangle choke, rear-naked choke, triangle armbar and guillotine choke.

3. Ambition spurred him to the top.

Bigdash remains one of only for men who have held the undisputed One Championship middleweight crown. Igor Svirid, Aung La N Sang and reigning champion Reinier de Ridder are the others. Bigdash laid claim to the title when he put away Svirid with a knee strike and follow-up punches in the second round of their One Championship “Tigers of Asia” pairing on Oct. 9, 2015 and surrendered it in a five-round unanimous decision loss to Sang at One Championship “Light of a Nation” on June 30, 2017. His 633-day reign ranks as the second-longest in the promotion’s history at 205 pounds.

4. Proven peers surround him.

The former One Championship middleweight titleholder trains with the Akhmat Fight Team in Grozny, Russia, where he has sharpened his skills alongside onetime M-1 Global champion Shamil Zavurov, current Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight Maxim Grishin, Bellator MMA veteran Mikhail Malyutin and a host of others.

5. He has been put to the test.

Bigdash’s five opponents in One Championship—Rong, Svirid, Sang, Leandro Ataides and Yuki Niimura— have 82 victories and 69 finishes between them. They boast an 82-35 (.700) combined record.