Dmitry Menshikov reveals his first sport before transitioning to martial arts

Before becoming a force to be reckoned with in combat sports, Dmitry Menshikov aspired to be a successful football player.

Instead, the Russian knockout artist will make his highly anticipated ONE Championship debut this Friday night as he immediately steps into the main event spotlight as he challenges ONE lightweight Muay Thai world champion Regian Eersel. The two world-class strikers will square off as part of the promotion’s stacked ONE Fight Night 11 event at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Before seeking his first ONE world title, Dmitry Menshikov revealed that he initially played football, but began studying martial arts after some encouragement from his father.

“Initially, I played football, but my father wanted me to do martial arts. We had a talk, and we decided I would start," said Menshikov.

Fighting was likely inevitable for Dmitry Menshikov considering he grew up in Prokopyesk, Russia, otherwise known as the City of Fighters. Prokopyesk has produced some truly great combat sports stars over the years, including Artem Levin, Artem Vakhitov, and Grigory Drozd. Menshikov hopes he can add his name to the list with a massive win over Regian Eersel.

As for Eersel, ‘The Immortal’ will enter the bout on an incredible 21-fight win streak and never once tasting defeat in nine fights under the ONE Championship banner. During his impressive run, Eersel has captured two ONE world championships, dominating the lightweight kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions.

The Surinamese-Dutch striker aims to keep his already legendary run going this Friday night against a bonafide knockout artist who plans on making a big first impression in his ONE debut.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 11 live and for free in U.S. primetime on June 9.