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ONE Championship recently highlighted the dynamic striking of Nieky Holzken.
The 39-year-old Holzken is still one of the most dangerous strikers on the planet. ‘The Natural’ holds a lifetime Muay Thai/kickboxing record of 94-17, including a historic run with GLORY, where he was a four-time world kickboxing champion.
ONE Championship praised Holzken with an Instagram video that gave a quick breakdown of his 2018 kickboxing knockout against Cosmo Alexandre. The caption attached was:
“The Natural” makes it look EASY 🤯 @niekyholzken”
Holzken made his ONE Championship debut in November 2018, defeating Alexandre in the video referenced above. In his next bout, the former GLORY champion took out Mustapha Haida with a unanimous decision to earn an opportunity for the inaugural ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship against Regian Eersel.
Eersel secured a unanimous decision win and then defeated Holzken for a second consecutive time several months later. ‘The Natural’ bounced back from those two losses with a first-round knockout against Elliot Compton before focusing on ONE’s lightweight Muay Thai division.
Watch Nieky Holzken knock out Cosmo Alexandre below:
What’s next for Nieky Holzken?
After getting back in the win column against Elliot Compton, Nieky Holzken made his ONE Championship Muay Thai debut against legendary Australian striker John Wayne Parr. The 39-year-old took out Parr with a second-round knockout, proving he’s a legitimate threat in the lightweight division.
A year later, Holzken returned at ONE X against Sinsamut Klinmee. Unfortunately for ‘The Natural', Sinsamut was phenomenal that night, securing a second-round knockout. ‘Aquaman’ went on to fight Regian Eersel for the inaugural ONE lightweight Muay Thai world championship, losing by a split decision that has warranted an instant rematch.
Meanwhile, it’s unclear what’s next for Holzken. With that said, there is a massive upcoming opportunity that could intrigue ‘The Natural'. ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced an Openweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix with $1 million awarded to the winner.
The tournament will reportedly take place in 2023 with sixteen fighters. Due to Holzken’s star power and highly-credentialed background, he seems like a good fit for the $1 million competition. Currently, Sinsamut Klinmee is the only official entrant announced for the tournament.
