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Alexis Nicolas knew he was destined to face Regian Eersel in a world title rematch.
In April, Nicolas made his second appearance under the ONE Championship banner following a win against Magomed Magomedov.
The undefeated Frenchman received a massive step-up in competition, as he challenged Eersel for his ONE lightweight kickboxing world title in the ONE Fight Night 21 main event.
Most people overlooked Nicolas due to Eersel's legendary win streak featuring title defenses in kickboxing and Muay Thai. Meanwhile, Nicolas was focused on showcasing a life-changing performance, which he did by pulling off a surprising unanimous decision win against Eersel.
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Six months later, the world-class lightweight strikers will meet again in the ONE Fight Night 25 main event.
Nicolas recently did an interview with ONE and had this to say about knowing the rematch was needed:
"That fight was very close, so I know ONE Championship wants the rematch. You have to have this rematch because that fight was very close, so I was ready for this.”
ONE Fight Night 25 goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Oct. 4 event, including the world title rematch between Alexis Nicolas and Regian Eersel, can be seen live and for free by North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Alexis Nicolas looks to quickly become pound-for-pound striker in ONE
Alexis Nicolas etched his name into ONE Championship history by becoming the lightweight kickboxing world champion.
With that said, there are still questions about who the best striker in the division is, as Regian Eersel narrowly suffered the defeat when they first met at ONE Fight Night 21.
On Friday, Nicolas has an opportunity to silence any doubters who believe Eersel won the first fight. Furthermore, two wins over a world-class fighter like 'The Immortal' would put the Frenchman among the best strikers in the promotion.
It'll be easier said than done for Nicolas, as Eersel has never lost back-to-back fights in his entire combat sports career.
The 31-year-old plans to avenge his lone promotional defeat and regain his status as a two-sport world champion.
