ONE lightweight kickboxing king Alexis Nicolas ready to defend his throne "against anyone who wants the belt"
Newly crowned ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion Alexis Nicolas is more than ready to resume his quest as the leader of the pack.
The unbeaten French striker shocked the world inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, last Friday, April 5, overcoming two-sport kingpin Regian Eersel after five intense rounds on his way to the sport's most prized possession.
Claiming the 26-pound gold is one thing, but more importantly, per the Mahmoudi Gym affiliate, he needs to prove his worth by successfully defending his ONE world title.
Speaking at the ONE Fight Night 21 post-event press conference, the divisional king offered:
"It's simple. I have the belt. I want to fight against anyone who wants the belt."
Watch Alexis Nicolas' press conference session here:
Topping the list of contenders eager to have another run at gold would be none other than 'The Immortal', of course.
The 31-year-old fighting out of Sityodtong Amsterdam reigned over the division for five years, even adding the lightweight Muay Thai crown throughout his terrorizing run as a two-sport world champion on the global stage.
He crushed anyone who came within his path of the world title. As such, there is no one more deserving than Eersel to vie for the prestigious strap in the division.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 21 card via replay.
Alexis Nicolas made it two in succession at ONE Fight Night 21
Alexis Nicolas' win against Eersel was his second successive win on the global stage of ONE Championship.
Having claimed the ISKA kickboxing world title in November 2023 after only starting kickboxing full-time in 2021, the Parisian proved he was more than ready to face the biggest names in the sport under the ONE banner.
In his promotional debut at ONE Friday Fights 47 this past January, 'Barboza' opened his account with a perfect attacking plan against Magomed Magamodev.
The undefeated 25-year-old powered his way to a unanimous decision win after three lop-sided rounds, timing his strikes and counters to perfection through their nine-minute lightweight kickboxing tilt.