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Regian Eersel was thrilled to take back the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship.
Around this same time last year, French newcomer Alexis Nicolas shocked the world, handing Eersel his first loss in nearly 2,500 days and taking the lightweight kickboxing crown.
Six months later, 'The Immortal' would exact revenge, defeating Nicolas at ONE Fight Night 25 to retake his 26 pounds of gold, once again making him a two-sport ONE world champion.
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Now, the two will meet for a third and final time this Friday, April 4, in the ONE Fight Night 30 co-main event. Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Eersel squares off against Nicolas in a lightweight kickboxing joust.
'The Immortal' was stripped of his crown after making weight, but doing so while not meeting the hydrated limit. Only Nicolas will be eligible to win the now vacant ONE lightweight kickboxing world title.
Looking back on his win over Nicolas in October, Eersel told the promotion:
“I was very happy to get my belt back and get revenge. I proved to myself, to my team, to all the fans, that I’m still the world champion.”
Regian Eersel hopes to see ONE Championship bring an event to his native Suriname
Determined to deliver another impressive showing at ONE Fight Night 30, Regian Eersel hopes that he can inspire ONE Championship to bring an event to South America someday.
Specifically, his home country—Suriname.
"Yes, of course, I want to fight at home," Eersel said on the Guillotine podcast. "It’s been a dream for me. It’s been a long long time since I fought at home, especially Suriname.
"I hope one day ONE will make a step to go to Europe or South America…it would be the best. I hope in the future they make the steps. But we will see."
First, 'The Immortal' will have to get the job done inside the Mecca of Muay Thai and prove that he's the absolute best in not one, but two sports.
ONE Fight Night 30 will air live on Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada in U.S. primetime on Friday, April 4.
