“Fight the best to be the best” - Alexis Nicolas says taking on Regian Eersel for a second time fuels his drive to perfection

Combat sports is a cruel revolving door of fighting the best possible opposition, and Alexis Nicolas is all too keen on that vicious reality. The reigning ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion always knew that to be the best fighter on the planet, he would have to face the best opponents.

That's the scenario he's in heading into his world title rematch against Regian Eersel in the main event of ONE Fight Night 25 on Friday at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

Nicolas said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that besides holding gold, one of the goals he set for himself was fighting the best fighters in the world.

He said:

"When I fight a good guy, it makes me better. And that’s what I wanted since the start of my career - fight the best to be the best."

Alexis Nicolas feeds off the greatness of his opponents. That was on full display when he beat Eersel in their first matchup at ONE Fight Night 21 in April this year.

Despite being seen as a massive underdog, Nicolas pulled off the impossible when he dropped the seemingly invincible Eersel in the second round to capture the unanimous decision win and the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title.

Nicolas now looks to repeat that stunning performance over Eersel, who still holds the ONE lightweight Muay Thai world title, in his quest to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the world.

ONE Fight Night 25, just like all of ONE Championship's Amazon cards, is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Watch Nicolas' entire interview below:

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Alexis Nicolas says his first fight against Regian Eersel elevated his game at an unprecedented rate

Alexis Nicolas quickly went from upstart to world-beater when he scored an improbable unanimous decision win over Regian Eersel in their first meeting in Bangkok.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the French star said he gained five years' worth of experience in just a single fight against 'The Immortal'.

"I learned a lot. I learned a lot. I think this fight gave me maybe three, four or five years of training more than before. It was a crazy experience. Eersel is very strong. He is my opponent, but I respect him for the fighter that he is and the legend that he is. And it will continue."