"It's going to be a banger" - Regian Eersel expects a barnburner against Arian Sadikovic

Regian Eersel, the reigning ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion, is expecting nothing less than a war in his title match against Arian Sadikovic.

The two striking savants will meet in their namesake event of ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

During the event’s virtual media day, Eersel said he expects Sadikovic to bring the pressure and look for any weaknesses in his defense.

Regian Eersel said:

“I think he will put pressure on me. Try to find the holes of course, and I will do the same. So it's going to be a banger. Yes, of course [I’ll meet him in the center of the cage]. Always.”

To say that Eersel has been dominant would be an understatement with the way ‘The Immortal’ has been going for the past six years. The 29-year-old has ran roughshod through his competition, including his six fights in ONE Championship.

Eersel, who is undefeated in six years, is riding an 18-fight winning streak and he’s planning to add Sadikovic to his list.

“[Being undefeated] feels almost normal. It's been six years that I have been unbeaten so yeah, it feels good. I enjoy it. Yeah, I don't think he's going to beat me. I think I'm going to beat him. And I hope I win.”

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Regian Eersel expects Arian Sadikovic’s aggression to come out

Despite being undefeated for half a decade, Eersel is humble enough to admit that he’s not a perfect fighter.

Sadikovic, leading up to the fight, always said that he will find holes in Eersel’s game and the reigning champion didn’t contest that.

“You know, nobody has the perfect defense. Nobody is unbeatable. Everybody's a human being, everybody. I believe we are human. A fight is a fight, everything can happen in a fight,” said the Dutch-Surinamese striker.

Sadikovic has fought just oncein ONE Championship before his title fight, but it was a the demolition of former title contender Mustapha Haida.

Sadikovic dominated Haida in their December 2021 fight and even scored a standing count in the third round after a series of knees and a cracking left hook to the midsection.

Regian Eersel is aware of what Sadikovic can do inside the circle and he expects his German challenger to bring the same aggression in their fight.

“He's an aggressive fighter, a complete fighter. Good knees. Good, straight boxing. He is a complete fighter, I think, and a very aggressive, strong guy.”

Tune in to ONE 156 on April 22 to see who leaves with the gold in their possession.