“Line them up for me” - Recrowned two-sport king Regian Eersel happy to test himself in mixed-rules super fights
After reclaiming the ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion, two-sport king Regian Eersel is ready to take things to the next level.
Returning to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, 'The Immortal' delivered a brilliant bounce-back performance against the first man to beat him in eight years—Alexis Nicolas.
After five hard-hitting rounds, Eersel was crowned the victor in their ONE Fight Night 25 headliner on Amazon Prime Video, reclaiming the lightweight kickboxing crown in the process.
Back on top of both the lightweight kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions, Eersel is ready to mix things up — literally.
During a post-event interview, the Surinamese sensation revealed that he would love to take part in some mixed-rules bouts. Asked who he could see himself competing against in such a fight, Eersel said:
"Anybody, just bring them to me. Like I said, I have no names. They can line them up for me."
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 25 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
Is Regian Eersel the man to bring mixed rules bouts back to ONE Championship?
In the past, ONE Championship has dipped its toe into the mixed-rules pool—mostly notably at the promotion's 10th anniversary spectacular ONE X in March 2022.
On that night, ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon squared off with P4P great Demetrious Johnson in a bout that alternated between Muay Thai and mixed martial arts rule sets.
The opening round saw the two warriors compete in the art of eight limbs before the second round switched to MMA. 'Mighty Mouse' survived a first-round onslaught from 'The Iron Man' and managed to clinch in a rear-naked choke in the second stanza to win the bout and once again make combat sports history.
Since then, the promotion has dabbled in special rules affairs i.e. the striking-only scrap between ONE strawweight MMA world champion Xiong Jing Nan and Nat 'Wondergirl' Jaroonsak.
Do you want to see ONE deliver more mixed and special rules matchups in the future? And if so, is Regian Eersel the man who should be competing in those spectacles?