“I have plans for two belts” - Dmitry Menshikov eyes Muay Thai and kickboxing gold in ONE Championship

Now that he has gotten his footing in ONE Championship, Russian striker Dmitry Menshikov revealed his goal of becoming a two-sport world champion. In particular, he is gunning for both the lightweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world titles.

The 26-year-old Prokopyevski native shread this following his third-round knockout victory over Thai fighter Sinsamut Klinmee at ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Menshikov had himself a battle against Sinsamut until he found the opening he was looking for late in the third and final round of the contest.

The Empire Club/Kuzbass Muay Thai affiliate managed to land crushing body shots that opened up for him to throw telling elbows and knees to the head. It took a lot from Sinsamut, who just folded in defeat at the 1:33 mark of final frame.

Following his victory, Dmitry Menshikov shared his plans moving forward, including having a title rematch with reigning lightweight Muay Thai king Regian Eersel.

He said at the post-event press conference:

"If it's a rematch with him [Eersel], sure. I want to be the champion and also I want to take the belt, not just in Muay Thai, but kickboxing too. It's in my goals. I have plans for two belts."

Dmitry Menshikov vied for the Muay Thai gold against Eersel in his promotional debut in June last year but was knocked out by 'The Immortal' inside the opening minute of the first round. He has since won three straight.

For the lightweight kickboxing world title, he has to contend with new divisional king Alexis Nicolas of France, who took the belt from Eersel last month.

Replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is available for North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Dmitry Menshikov has moved past defeat to Regian Eersel

Following his first-round KO defeat to ONE lightweight Muay Thai world champion Dmitry Menshikov in his promotional debut, Dmitry Menshikov admitted that he received a lot criticism over it. But he said he has already moved past it and now focusing on what lies ahead.

Such a mindset has led him to win three straight since, including his latest over Thai Sinsamut Klinmee at ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3.

Ahead of the Sinsamut fight, Menshikov told ONE Championship how he handled things following his devastating loss to Eersel, saying:

"I have a different opponent and a different fight now, so all my thoughts are about that. Not about Eersel. Now I have to fight and win. That's my goal at the moment. As for the criticim, it happened in the past, it is happening and it will happen again. People criticize even after I have good fights, so it's OK."

Dmitry Menshikov is looking to run it back against Eersel at some point and given how he has turned things around for himself in ONE Championship, it is going to be interesting how their possible rematch will pan out.