“A difficult but necessary step” - Alexis Nicolas coming to terms to losing his trilogy match with archnemesis Regian Eersel

'Barboza' Alexis Nicolas has been riding an emotional rollercoaster with 'The Immorta' Regian Eersel for about a year now. Their trilogy spanned three high-stakes bouts, multiple knockdowns, a title swap, and a reputation-building rivalry that helped shape Nicolas into the fighter he is today.

But at ONE Fight Night 30 last week, it was Eersel who closed the chapter with an emphatic win. After five intense rounds of action, the Surinamese came out with a majority decision victory. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to reclaim the gold he lost on the scale due to a failed hydration test.

Shortly after the event, Alexis Nicolas took to Instagram to share his thoughts:

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"It's not an easy life, but it's the life I've decided to lead. ✍🏽

I’m still young. What a start to a career 🤯 This period will probably soon be nothing more than a distant memory, a difficult but necessary step."

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"Not the expected result" - Alexis Nicolas reflects on his defeat as his rivalry with Regian Eersel comes to a close in Bangkok

What was supposed to be the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship bout was demoted to a regular lightweight kickboxing match after defending champ Regian Eersel failed to make hydration and was stripped of his title before fight day.

Looking back on the trilogy, Alexis Nicolas didn't shy away from the emotions of it all. In his own words:

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"The trilogy with Eersel is over. It's not the expected result, neither he or I left with the belt."

With this, the intense Nicolas-Eersel rivalry comes to a close with back-to-back wins for Regian Eersel.

Watch ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles via replay, free with an active Prime Video subscription.

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