"Boxing saved my life" - Alexis Nicolas says martial arts helped him stay away from doing "bad sh*t" on the streets

Apart from the fact that he is the reigning and defending ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion, we still have a lot more to learn about Alexis Nicolas. The French standout has competed just two times under the ONE Championship banner thus far.

In just his second fight, he went the distance with Regian Eersel and dethroned the former champ in one of the biggest upsets of the year. Ahead of their rematch at ONE Fight Night 25 on Oct. 4 inside Lumpinee Stadium, Nicolas revealed more about his journey in life.

Like many athletes in combat sports, the Frenchman eventually found his way despite the temptations that surrounded him when he was growing up. Nicolas was able to find a positive outlet in life which helped him steer away from going down a bad path.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA, the champ revealed what he would likely be doing if he hadn't ever fallen in love with combat sports:

"I don't know, maybe in the streets of my neighborhood, doing some bad sh*t. For me, boxing saved my life and led me to a good path."

Alexis Nicolas changed his life at ONE Fight Night 21

That commitment and dedication that helped shape the life of Alexis Nicolas paid off for him at ONE Fight Night 21. He may have been a relatively unknown competitor at the time but that didn't mean that he hadn't put the hard work in to get to this point.

When his opportunity arrived, he capitalized and produced a career-best performance to leave Lumpinee Stadium with the lightweight gold.

Now, he will look to replicate this when facing Eersel in a highly anticipated rematch. Both men have made a lot of sacrifices in life to achieve this career but that only gives them more motivation to stay on top.

ONE Fight Night 25 will air live in US primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.