“I know what I can do” - Alexis Nicolas brimming with confidence ahead of epic rematch with Regian Eersel

ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion Alexis Nicolas is confident heading into his rematch with former divisional king Regian Eersel this week, believing he has a better understanding of who he is a fighter and what he is capable of doing.

'Barboza' is featured in the headlining contest at ONE Fight Night 25 on Oct. 4 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, where he will defend his world title against 'The Immortal', from whom he took it back in April.

In an interview with ONE Championship ahead of his first title defense, Alexis Nicolas shared that he is taking cue from his first encounter with Eersel, highlighting that he learned a lot about himself from that fight.

The 26-year-old Frenchman said:

"Eersel was an example for me and now I'm very confident in the fight. Now I know who I am. I know what I can do and I know how I feel when I fight him. He felt my power, he felt how fast I am, how I punch -- now we know."

In his decision victory over Eersel in their title clash in April, Alexis Nicolas surprised with his steady dominance in controling the match, leaving the Surinamese-Dutch fighter hard-pressed to get his game fully going. He even sent Eersel to the canvas in the second round with an explosive overhand right.

It is same performance he looks to put up in their scheduled rematch at ONE Fight Night 25, which will air live and for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Alexis Nicolas says things fell into place in first fight against Regian Eersel

Alexis Nicolas said he was not surprised that he defeated Regian Eersel in their first encounter because the match turned out exactly how he and his team envisioned it.

Looking back on his title-clinching decision win over 'The Immortal' back in April, the Mahmoudi Gym standout shared to the promotion that their game plan worked to a T and they could not be prouder.

He said:

"[I was] 100% [confident going to the scorecards]. Together with my team, I did what I can do. So the game plan was OK, everything happened the way I wanted it to, just that I broke my ankle at the start of the first round. That was the only problem. But everything was okay, my team was proud of me."

Apart from retaining the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title, Alexis Nicolas is seeking to win his third straight match for this year alone after making his promotional debut last January.