The 3 biggest questions heading into ONE Fight Night 11

The month of June is finally upon us, which means ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video is just right around the corner.

Two world titles will be hanging in the balance in ONE Championship’s sixth Amazon card of the year, with Regian Eersel and Kade Ruotolo looking to remain atop the striking and grappling pecking order, respectively.

‘The Immortal’ will act as a rude host against debuting Dmitry Menshikov, who seeks to pry away his ONE lightweight Muay Thai crown.

Elsewhere, Ruotolo wants to deny Tommy Langaker’s claim to his ONE lightweight submission grappling throne.

As always, ONE Fight Night cards are available free of charge for those with an existing Prime Video subscription in the United States and Canada.

Before the action intensifies at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on June 9, here are three burning questions that will be answered at ONE Fight Night 11.

---

#3. Is Jeremy Miado ready for a world title shot?

A four-fight winning streaking is indeed a strong case for a world title shot, especially if all have come by way of stunning finishes.

Jeremy Miado is one of the hottest fighters in the promotion, knocking out Miao Li Tao twice, and finishing Lito Adiwang and Danial Williams.

It’s a shame that he’s not even in the top five of the strawweight rankings. Then again, the fault lies in ‘The Jaguar’s own doing, after he missed hydration in his last bout with ‘Mini T’.

Still, there’s no doubt that Miado is one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion right now, and has gotten better with every circle appearance. Another highlight reel finish should put him on the short list of challengers for reigning strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks.

Obviously, he must first get past a dangerous opponent at ONE Fight Night 11, where he’ll clash against undefeated Mansur Malachiev. The submission machine, who holds a 10-0 record, is known for his fearsome Dagestani wrestling pedigree.

Miado must also overcome his previous shortcomings and meet the demands of the scales this time around. If the Filipino KO artist can surpass these hurdles, with flying colors, nonetheless, then he certainly deserves a shot at 26 pounds of gold.

---

#2. How high is Kade Ruotolo’s ceiling?

At just 20 years old, it seems Kade Ruotolo has already achieved some of the highest accolades in grappling.

After wreaking havoc in the 2022 ADCC World Championship to become the tournament’s youngest champion, Ruotolo became the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling king after submitting Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3.

The sky is definitely the limit for the Atos standout, who displays vast improvements each time we see him in the circle.

Still, most fans and pundits can’t help but wonder just how far he’ll be able to reach, given he’s already at the pinnacle at such a young age.

Ruotolo has already talked about possibly transitioning to MMA later this year. However, that move will only be possible if he gets past phenomenal challenger Tommy Langaker.

The Norwegian is a BJJ black belt just like himself and also has a penchant for putting on exhilarating bouts.

He is, by far, Ruotolo’s biggest challenge to date, and we all can’t wait to see how he’ll take on this test at ONE Fight Night 11.

---

#1. Is Regian Eersel the best pound-for-pound fighter in ONE Championship?

In terms of discussion about the promotion’s pound-for-pound best, Regian Eersel’s name somehow often gets left out of the conversation. The Surinamese-Dutch fighter, after all, is as lowkey as it gets and would rather let his skills do most of the talking for him.

Eersel has gone unbeaten in nine outings inside the circle, and is the proud owner of two massive gold belts.

The lightweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion has been beating challengers left and right and will seek to add Dmitry Menshikov to his long list of victims.

In retrospect, we’ve seen Eersel’s peers fall off as of late, as former world champions in the striking arts like Superbon and Nong-O Hama have both lost their world titles.

It’s about time ‘The Immortal’ gets the respect he deserves. If Eersel can pull off another stunning victory, then he might just be the best fighter in the promotion, regardless of sport.