“I wasn’t there, just to be there” – Alexis Nicolas had zero doubt he could end Regian Eersel’s terrifying kickboxing reign
French kickboxing star Alexis Nicolas shook the very foundations of combat sports when he snapped the dominant reign of ONE lightweight two-sport world champion Regian 'The Immortal' Eersal at ONE Fight Night 21 last week.
Inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, 'Barboza' snapped Eersel's staggering 22-fight winning streak and took home the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title.
Coming in with just one bout under the ONE Championship banner and going up against one of the promotion's most dominant world champions, Alexis Nicolas was unsurprisingly considered the underdog.
Perhaps only Nicolas and his team were the ones who knew that he had the tools to take down 'The Immortal'. In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the French striker spoke about being the underdog in the bout:
“Everyone doubted me, but it didn’t matter because my family and my children trusted me. We knew that I wasn’t there, just to be there. When I accepted this fight, I watched all of Eersel’s [previous bouts]. I told everyone [back at home], ‘Yeah, I can bring this belt to the country’. And now, here we are.”
Alexis Nicolas' win is one of the reasons why people love combat sports - you just never know what will happen. The odds can say so much as what truly matters is what happens inside the ring.
Watch the full interview here:
Alexis Nicolas edges Regian Eersel out in a razor-close world title bout at ONE Fight Night 21
Nicolas pressed the action early, bludgeoning Eersel's legs with low kicks. The world champion answered back by using his length advantage and landed some strong punches.
In the second round, Eersel upped his pressure but paid for it as he ate a powerful right hand to the temple as he was rushing in, putting him on the ground. After easily beating the 10-count, 'The Immortal' tried to make up for the flash knockdown by pressing the action even more.
The third round could have gone either way, with both warriors getting some good licks in. Eersel was largely the aggressor, chasing Alexis Nicolas around while the latter was content with planting his feet and fighting fire with fire.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, the world champion increased the intensity as he always does but the challenger answered him shot-for-shot. In the end, the judges saw the razor-close bout going in Nicolas' favor, presumably due to the knockdown he scored in the second frame.
The replay of ONE Fight Night 21 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.