"I'm the king now" - New lightweight kickboxing champ Alexis Nicolas on ending Regian Eersel's dominant reign
Despite the seemingly overwhelming odds, Alexis Nicolas bravely marched into battle in the main event of ONE Fight Night 21 last weekend and ended Regian Eersel's perfect run in ONE Championship.
After five rounds of pure kickboxing masterpiece, 'Barboza' did the improbable and bested 'The Immortal' via unanimous decision, to begin his reign as the new ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion.
Shortly after capturing his well-earned 26 pounds of gold, Nicolas spoke with Mitch Chilson in his in-ring interview. The proud Frenchman confidently embraced his new responsibilities as the new ruler of the division.
He said:
"I'm proud. I'm the king now. So everybody wants my crown, but I'm ready to defend."
Alexis Nicolas accomplished what no other fighter has done over the last eight years. Eersel, after all, was on a ridiculous 22-fight winning streak until he met his kryptonite in the form of the Savate fighter.
'Barboza' took away Eersel's aura of invincibility as early as round 2, when he dropped the former double champion with a pin-point right cross to the temple.
The undefeated Frenchman refused to slack off after the knockdown, as he kept the pressure going in the ensuing rounds to notch arguably the biggest win of his promising career by far.
Fans already calling for a rematch between Alexis Nicolas and Regian Eersel
It's also worth noting that Eersel bounced back after the round 2 knockdown and adjusted better as the fight wore on. The Surinamese striker eventually figured out a way to bypass Nicolas' kicks and found success in closed-ranged with his short punch combinations.
However, Eersel couldn't score a knockdown to even the odds, which eventually cost him in the scorecards.
Given the close nature of this bout, fight fans on ONE's social media accounts are already calling for Regian Eersel vs. Alexis Nicolas II.
Catch the full replay of ONE Fight Night 21, available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.