ONE Championship: Regian Eersel recaptures lightweight kickboxing title at Fight Night 25
Eersel’s aggressive approach pays off as he forces Nicolas to fight on back foot
Regian Eersel and Alexis Nicolas went the distance for the second time at ONE Fight Night 25 on Saturday.
The length of the fight was identical to their first meeting but the outcome was different with the Dutch fighter being crowned the winner, recapturing his lightweight kickboxing title.
Eersel took a very aggressive approach to this rematch at Lumpinee Stadium, charging forwards while throwing punches and knees. It forced Nicolas to fight on the back foot and he spent the start of the fight in retreat mode.
Eersel was setting a blistering pace and the occasional hard counter right to the body from Nicolas did not seem to slow him down. The Dutchman clearly got the better of the opening two rounds but Nicolas rallied in the third.
The closing exchanges were closer and both men had their hands raised at the end but it was the Dutchman who got the nod. Two of the judges had Eersel winning by 48-47 while the third had him ahead by a slightly wider margin at 49-46.
