Regian Eersel reveals why he must delay highly anticipated rematch with new lightweight kickboxing champ Alexis Nicolas

ONE Championship fans witnessed one of the biggest upsets in the promotion's history on April 5 at ONE Fight Night 21. There, Alexis Nicolas dethroned Regian Eersel for the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship.

Almost two months on since his first defeat in over eight years, 'The Immortal' is staking his claim for a rematch, but some time later this year.

Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA's Kyle Dimond and Nic Atkin, Eersel revealed why he wishes to have it in the last quarter of 2024:

"Of course, immediately, straight away [I want that rematch]. Probably I'd be happy to get the rematch in October, because I'm getting married in August."

Watch the full interview with Regian Eersel below:

Entering his bout with the Frenchman, Eersel was on a 22-fight winning streak that saw him take down the likes of Thai star Sinsamut Klinmee and the legendary Nieky Holzken, which had fans confident of Eersel retaining against Nicolas.

However, 'Barboza' pulled off an early knockdown that turned out to be the deciding factor on the scorecards, allowing him to take the Surinamese's lightweight kickboxing world title via unanimous decision.

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Regian Eersel looks back on what went wrong against Alexis Nicolas

While Regian Eersel still holds the ONE lightweight Muay Thai world championship, the Sityodtong Amsterdam product was in a reflective mood during an interview with STVS Suriname to talk about the aftermath of the fight.

Eersel said the following:

"After watching the fight again, I think I can understand his game better. I feel like I rushed at times too. I just couldn't connect the dots in this fight."

If you missed out on any of the action from ONE Fight Night 21, the replay can be watched live via Amazon Prime in the United States and Canada.