Reinier de Ridder Dethrones Aung La N Sang, Claims Second One Championship Title

クォーターネルソン膝 @ABEMA で視聴中 https://t.co/6XhvXFqmJw #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/MDH8fPlV0w

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Life could not get much better for Reinier de Ridder.

“The Dutch Knight” became a simultaneous two-division titleholder, as he captured the One Championship light heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision over Aung La N Sang in the five-round One on TNT 4 headliner on Wednesday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore. De Ridder (14-0, 5-0 One) had laid claim to the promotion’s middleweight championship in October, also at Sang’s expense. The rematch was an exercise in futility. De Ridder executed takedowns in all five rounds, moved either to the back or full mount on multiple occasions, mixed in some ground-and-pound and threatened with various submissions. He nearly finished it inside the first round, where he transitioned to an arm-triangle choke and had Sang (26-12, 11-3 One) in visible distress. The Myanmar-born star weathered those advances but could do nothing to stop de Ridder from dismantling him on the ground across their 25 minutes in the cage.

In the lightweight co-main event, airtight takedown defense and a near-finish carried Rae Yoon Ok to a unanimous decision over former Bellator MMA and Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Eddie Alvarez. All three cageside judges scored it for Ok (13-3, 2-0 One).

Alvarez (30-9, 1-3 One) struggled and ultimately failed to establish an offensive rhythm, spending far too much time shooting for takedowns with little to no return on his investment. Ok floored “The Underground King” with a stinging right in the first round, then swarmed with punches and rapid-fire hammerfists for a potential stoppage. Alvarez survived, but the damage was done. Ok spent the next 10 minutes in a defensive posture, countering the Philadelphia native’s progress with an effective clinch, sneaky right hands and occasional jabs.

Ok has won four fights in a row.

Meanwhile, former One Championship, Dream and Shooto titleholder Shinya Aoki submitted Eduard Folayang with an armbar in the first round of their lightweight rubber match. Folayang (22-11, 12-9 One) conceded defeat 4:20 into Round 1, falling to 1-2 in his head-to-head series with the all-time great.

Aoki (47-9, 12-3 UFC) tripped the Filipino standout the floor, calmly progressed to full mount and proceeded to drop elbow-laced ground-and-pound. From there, he transitioned to the armbar, broke Folayang’s grip and extended to his hips to prompt the tapout.

The 37-year-old Aoki has rattled off four consecutive victories, three of them by submission.

In other action, Kirill Grishenko (4-0, 1-0 One) was awarded a technical knockout over Oumar Kane (3-1, 2-1 One) in between the second and third rounds of their heavyweight showcase after the Senegalese wrestling champion was struck in the throat at the bell, hit the deck and could not continue; Jackie Butnan took a majority decision from Ekaterina Vandaryeva in a three-round muay Thai affair at 125 pounds; and Colbey Northcutt (2-1, 2-0 One) submitted Courtney Martin (0-1, 0-1 One) with an armbar 2:28 into the first round of their women’s flyweight tilt.