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Alexis Nicolas gained tremendous confidence from his shocking win against Regian Eersel.
On Jan 12, Nicolas made his ONE Championship debut and looked impressive in a unanimous decision-winning performance against Magomed Magomedov. The win earned him a title shot against then-world lightweight kickboxing world champion Eersel on April 5 in the ONE Fight Night 21 main event.
Nicolas entered OFN 21 with an undefeated professional lifetime record. With that said, most people predicted he would lose against Eersel, as the Suriname-born fighter held a promotional record of 10-0 between kickboxing and Muay Thai.
'Barboza' silenced the doubters by securing a unanimous decision win to become the new lightweight kickboxing king. During a post-fight interview with Sportskeeda, Nicolas had this to say about his life-changing accomplishment:
"Eersel is the best and he's the hardest opponent I can meet. The other contenders are very strong, but none of them can live up to Eersel. Eersel beat all those names, and I beat Eersel. That doesn't mean anything, but it makes me confident that I can stay as the king of this division."
The replay of ONE Fight Night 21, including the war between Nicolas and Eersel, can be seen for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Watch Alexis Nicolas' entire post-fight interview below:
Should Regian Eersel receive an immediate rematch against Alexis Nicolas?
Before losing against Alexis Nicolas, Regian Eersel had a promotional kickboxing record of 7-0, including five wins for the lightweight world title. Eersel's resume in the division features Nieky Holzken x2, Anthony Njokuani, Mustapha Haida, and more.
It should also be noted that Eersel vs Nicolas was an extremely close fight, which could have been scored either way. Therefore, most fans wouldn't argue against an immediate rematch, as another fifteen minutes between the world-class strikers could create a Fight of the Year contender.
Watch highlights from Nicolas' title-winning performance below:
