Regian Eersel stood atop the lightweight world before Alexis Nicolas unexpectedly knocked him off his perch at ONE Fight Night 21.
On Friday, Oct. 4, Eersel will get a chance to prove that night was a fluke. The two strikers will run it back for the ONE Lightweight Kickboxing Championship at ONE Fight Night 25 in Bangkok, Thailand.
In an interview with ONE Championship, “The Immortal” shared his thoughts on the last match and what he truly thinks of his French foe.
“I’m more disappointed that I lost to a guy like Alexis. He’s now the World Champion, but he’s not a fighter in his heart,” Eersel remarked to ONE.
“In my way of thinking, he did good. He was smart. He does have my respect by way of intelligence because his strategy was good. But I saw that he’s not a real fighter.”
“He came to fight, of course, but the small details, what I saw in his eyes and his body language, he was hurt, and he survived. I could say that he survived.”
Eersel had 10 consecutive wins in ONE before the narrow decision loss, and that is why he pushed for an immediate rematch.
Granted his wish, Eersel is focused on re-asserting his dominance on the lightweight division.
“I asked for an immediate rematch because I rewatched the fight with my team and we came to the conclusion that we have to do it again. You cannot win against a champion like that with only a one point difference. And that’s why we asked for the rematch,” Eersel said.
“I still believe I’m the best in the world in this division. To lose my streak was difficult, but it gives me the extra spark to show the world – and also to show myself and Alexis – that I’m the better fighter and that I’m the king of the division.”
Even though the 31-year-old spoke harshly about Nicolas, it does not mean he lacks respect for the French striker. “The Immortal” complimented his game plan from their initial meeting.
The Surinamese star was truthful that the early calf kicks greatly limited his offense as the match drew on into the championship rounds.
“The first round he got me good with the calf kicks. That was a surprise for me. But I was feeling okay. When I felt this power, I was like, ‘I can handle this.’ The only thing was the calf kicks because I never felt that pain before,” the Surinamese star stated.
“I started blocking too late and the damage was already done so I think that was the problem of the fight for me.”
“In the second round, I got knocked down. I was pressuring him a lot. He caught me with the right hook. The moment I got hit, I was going to my ankle. I fell down. I thought, ‘I’ll stand up quickly and we will continue to fight,’ but the referee started counting. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to protest, I got hit,’ but it was not like I was dizzy or something like that.”
Eersel was truthful in saying that his motivation waned by remaining at the top for so long, but the loss stoked the embers and reignited his desire for ONE Fight Night 25.
As one of the pound-for-pound best athletes in combat sports, a refreshed and aggressive Eersel will be must-see television on Friday night.
“I’ve learned from this loss. I got my hunger back. After staying on top so many years, you lose a little bit of fire. And I noticed it in the fight when I was hurting him and he was running away, I had the extra fire to go through the pain and put more and more pressure on him,” Eersel commented.
“So I learned I have more fire inside of me, and I learned I have to think and be smarter than him in the next fight.”
ONE Fight Night 25 airs live and free on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, Oct. 4. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.